Kaito and the 7uhSEVEN
by Phantom Shyraz
Summary: Like all fairy tales, it started with 'Once Upon A Time' and ended with 'Happily Ever After'. It has a prince with a charming nature, travelling across the landscape, a daring sword fight, and another prince? Love at first sight? Throw in an evil magic user, add in the equally evil (but somewhat stupid) henchman, and we have your 'normal' fairy tale. -KaiShin/ShinKai Pairing-


**-Kaito and the 7...uh...SEVEN-**

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Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

Warning: KaiShin relationship.

A/N: A fairy tale fusion that has been buried in my computer and I've finally finished. 3 guesses as to which fairy tale it is and the first 2 doesn't count. I'm hoping to create a fairy tale fusion series so I do have a second idea in my mind.

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Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a talented King and his gracious Queen. They were kind people; the King would often entertain his people and allies and the Queen would always be there by his side offering comfort and warmth. Their reigning city, Ekoda, is located in the trough of a lush valley, filled with greenery and flowers of every kind. The King and Queen was loved by many people and when news of their offspring spread inside the city, people rejoiced and celebrated with much jubilation. The King joined in on the festivities and took to the stage, wowwing his audience with fantastical performances of magic. His wife and Queen sat at the front, eyes aglow with wonderment and happiness. At the end of the show, the King hopped down to give his gem of a wife a loving kiss, where the people further cheered.

"Are you happy My Love? Even our people are overjoyed at the news."

The Queen rubbed the still flat stomach, knowing the life within was just at its beginning. But she could feel it already, the loveable child that would become their brightest light. She reached out for her King's dexterous hands and laid them over her abdomen.

"What would you wish for our child My Love?" The King asked for it was part of the King's job to bless and grant wishes.

"I wish for our child to be bright like the stars at night, guiding the lost and protecting them from danger, strong enough to protect his people but gentle enough to show mercy to those who deserve it. I wish for our child to be talented at his gifts as bestowed by Greater Powers but humble to know he is not above the people. Above all else, I want our child to be like you, a respected and much loved individual, adored and honoured by our people." Her violet eyes looked lovingly at her King.

"My Queen, you are quite greedy in your wishes." The King teased, gently kissing his beloved wife on the cheeks.

"But I know our child will be just that and be blessed with more. After all, you were always the one to create a miracle and I'm sure our child, too, will grow to be just like you." Her smile was blinding, to the point where everyone in the Town Square could feel the love in the air. The people joyously cheered and the festivities soon restarted, with the King and Queen now seated at the seat of Honour and guests poured in to congratulate the pair of royals.

-9 Months Later-

The King paced along the corridor, footsteps loud against the stone floor but not loud enough to drown out the sounds from beyond the closed doors. On the other side was his wife and Queen, laboring to bring their child to the world. With each scream and muffled curse, the King would tense and stop in the middle of his pacing before starting up again. His restraint to burst through the door was slowly dwindling by each second and soon, he found his feet in front of the large wooden doors with his hands over the handle.

"Push, Your Majesty." The King heard one of the midwives shouted above his Queen's screams. "Just a little more."

The King turned away and restarted his pacing close to the windows and far away from the doors as his Queen screamed louder this time. There was nothing he could do. He felt the tension was getting to him as his face showed his nervousness. The only person with him was his faithful assistant and servant, the ever dependable companion who had been with him ever since he was crowned.

"Her Majesty will be fine. The country's best midwives are here to take care of her. Both of them would be fine." His loyal companion placed a calming hand on the King's shoulders and gave an encouraging smile as support.

"Thank you my friend." The King smiled, grateful for the encouragement.

After many minutes of rushed activities from the other side of the door, there was a split second of complete silence where the tension was thick. But this tension was quickly broken with the loud sound of a wailing voice. The King's mustache twitched as his lips were automatically pulled into a smile. Their child was born and had taken the first lung full of air, first bathed in the light of this world. The King could not contain the happiness inside him as he waited for one of the nurses to come out to allow him entrance.

"Congratulations Your Majesty." The nurse bowed respectfully as she motioned the King to enter, "it's a healthy baby boy."

The King could barely contain the excitement as his walked briskly towards his Queen. She looked tired but had a content smile on her face. Within her arms was the small bundle of blankets that held their boy. The Queen repositioned her arms to let the King see. The boy was chubby with a tuft of brown hair standing defiantly. The King gently laid his hands on the plump cheeks, caressing it and feeling the heated skin.

"What should we name him My King?" His Queen looked up at him expectantly.

"Kaito." He whispered after a moment's thought. "He would be as swift as the swallows that flies, as bright as the guiding light of the Northern Star in the darkened sky."

"And as cunning as his namesake right?" There was a glimmer of mischief in her purple eyes. His Queen was truly spectacular to have caught on. He gently kissed her at the temples as his answer.

Just as he pulled away, their baby boy squirmed and opened a sliver of his eyes to see what had woken him. The bright amethysts looked at the scene with ample curiosity, mouth opening and closing as though to form sounds. There was not even a squeak but the intention was there. Kaito moved his hands in a grabby motion and the King reached out. Small fingers brushed across the calloused palm and Kaito smiled delightfully.

"He adores you already." The Queen placed a loving kiss on Kaito's forehead, which earned more squirming but it soon subsided as Kaito fell asleep with the King's finger in his grasp.

-8 Years Later-

-Kaito: Age 8-

Little feet pattered quickly out of the large French doors towards where his mother sat sipping afternoon tea at the wrought iron table. The table was set with a large arrangement of cakes and sandwiches, a pot of fragrant tea let out whispers of steam by the side.

"'Kaa-san!" Kaito made a dash to where his mother sat elegantly, hands poised around the delicate ceramic cup. He leapt from the back and wrapped his arm around her neck for a hug. He was careful not to have disturbed the flatware on the table as he clinged tighter onto his mother. She shifted to accommodate her energetic son as best she could.

"Kaito." She shook her head fondly, her boy was always full of energy. She had given up on trying to tame him or stop him from running about. After all, it was in a child's nature to want to explore, run, and jump. She was at least glad that Kaito had a good sense of balance as the child loved high places and would often climb trees and scale the roof just to get a glimpse of the vast open skies.

"Look, look!" Kaito shook his little fist in front of his mother's face. He counted "one, two, three" and on the third count, a pink rose appeared in his hands.

"And where did you learn that." She took the flower from her son. "Not even the slightest crumpled." She placed a loving kiss on the cheeks before carefully stowing the flowers on one side of the table.

"'Tou-san showed me and told me to figure it out myself!" Kaito was extremely proud of his work.

Said father and King strolled leisurely across the gardens and offered his Queen a large bouquet with a puff of smoke.

"Hey! No fair!" Kaito pouted before pouncing onto his father, "you upstaged me!"

The King fell into the soft grass with his son sitting on top of him. He ruffled Kaito's soft nest-like hair before lifting him up in the air.

"Higher! Higher!" Kaito laughed joyfully, "I'm flying!"

The King indulged in his only son accompanied by the giggling of his wife and loyal companion. Times like these were a great treasure as the King was always busy with work. Recently, being able to find the time to play with his son and be in the company of his wife was a rare treat.

"Wait, wait." Kaito flailed all of a sudden, leaping away in mid air and landing in a perfect crouch, safely on the ground. The King and Queen were impressed by the sudden athleticism. "I want to show you something."

The King gave his son his utmost attention. He had a good idea what his boy was up to.

Kaito stood confidently in front of his father, showed him his hands, both the palms and the back. He dramatically lifted the sleeves of his shirt and shook it to show there was nothing hidden. Giving his audience a maniac grin, he clapped his hands together and a puff of smoke appeared. When the cloud of smoke cleared, a snowy white dove stood patiently in Kaito's palms, then feeling the eyes from the King, took a bow before flying to roost in Kaito's hair.

"Oi." Kaito tried to dislodge the bird but she stayed firmly rooted in his hair. Resigning to become his dove's perch for the afternoon, Kaito turned to look expectantly at his father.

"Nicely done Kaito." The King lifted his son and carried him towards the table. "You're getting the hang of things."

Kaito brightened at his father's praise. "I'm going to practice some more and I'll soon be better than you." He scrambled over to where Jii was standing in attention and took hold of of his hands before dragging the elder man indoors, probably to have him show a few tricks. Kaito knew from an early stage that only learning from his father is not enough to surpass him.

"I'm going to be going away for a while." The King informed with a languid smile on his face, enjoying the view of his beloved Queen. "Just a visit to our neighbours and probably stop at Beika City. Their boy is the same age as Kaito and they would probably make good playmates."

"Did you know, Yuki-chan and I have an agreement of sorts? Though it wouldn't matter much now, seeing as that particular union may not happen no matter how much we wish for it." The Queen sighed with a certain degree of wistfulness on her face. She had been looking forward to becoming a big family with her friend.

"I should be returning in a month or so." The King took hold of the resting hand and brought it up towards his lips, laying down a gentle kiss of comfort.

"You're leaving today?" She inquired. She had been seeing less of her King lately and it most likely has to do with the matter up North, their struggles with their shadowy enemy.

"Tomorrow early morning Love. That is why I'll be spending the whole day today with you and Kaito."

On the morning of the King's journey, the Queen and Kaito bade him farewell with with smiling faces and prays for his swift and safe journey.

"When you come back 'tou-san, I would have mastered many more tricks and I'll show you then." Kaito yelled as he waved enthusiastically to the disappearing coach.

-1 Month Later-

Kaito sat at the wrought iron table with his mother for lunch but he could not help but bite his lips as the special day draws near. His father The King had been gone for a month, news of his travels had stopped arriving at the castle a week ago. Since then, Kaito had been anxious.

"Is something wrong?" His mother asked with gentle eyes.

"Would 'tou-san come back in time for my birthday?" Kaito poked at the sandwich in front, not really having the appetite.

"Oh my dear son," The Queen enveloped her son in a breathtaking hug, holding tight and squeezing the uncertainty out of the tiny body. "Your father would not miss it for the world. I'm guessing he's only busy trying to persuade his friend and his son to come over."

Kaito looked up expectantly for his mother's explanation.

"The place your father is visiting, Beika City, the reason for his visit. You see, the King and Queen of Logica Kingdom also have a son, slightly older than you. Your father went to congratulate them since he had not been able to do so when their son was born. We're all really good friends so I'm sure they would love to visit us here." The Queen ruffled the nest-like hair with fondness. "Do you want to meet this little prince and become friends?"

"Prince? Friends?" Bright violet eyes glowed as though his mother had given him free access to sweets and chocolates. "Of course! When are they going to be over?"

"Soon dear, I'm quite certain that they are just finishing some last minute work. Your father should be on the way back by now." There was a degree of certainty in her voice, declaring her trust towards her beloved King. "He had been on the road for a month and the places he visited should not take longer than a few day's travel."

"Where is Beika City? Do you think I can visit it next time with 'tou-san?" Kaito clambered onto his mother's laps to hear the story.

"Beika City is at the east of our kingdom. It lies just beyond the forest, pass the two outer towns. The border of ours meets that of Logica Kingdom but the grand city is further away still. It lies on the base of the Great Mountain, surrounded by large pine trees." She told with a gentle voice. She might not be a performer but she was a good storyteller.

"Is their castle big and beautiful?"

"As big ours with ivy and vines weaving on the walls. Their gardens are filled with greenery, not as many flowers as ours nor do they have a large carpet of grass like the one we're sitting in, but they have tall trees and a bamboo garden with a running stream."

"It sounds really nice..." Kaito looked longingly into the distance. "Have you been there before?"

"A few times before your father was crowned king."

"Aw, it's not fair. I want to go as well." Kaito whined, a rare behaviour. It must mean Kaito really wanted to meet this Prince. "If this friend can come to visit, this means I can return the favour and go to Beika later!"

"Of course Kaito." She ruffled his nest-like hair with affection.

Kaito happily returned to his seat and proceeded to gobble down his sandwich.

"This means I need to practice more of my magic, so I could host a performance and show him!"

Kaito was like a whirlwind of energy, one minute he had been sitting down and the next he was out of his chair and racing across the grass to indoors. Distantly, she heard her son shouting for their loyal assistant and several maids yelping before a crashing should. Shaking her head, she returned to her own meal peacefully, gazing off into the distance and wondering what her beloved King was doing.

-3 weeks later-

There had been no word from the King still, not by the official channels, or even through rumours around town. The Queen had sent messengers towards Beika recently, fearing something had happened. Kaito was oblivious to this but he had been growing with nervous energy that often resulted in major pranks around the castle. The staff has now become accustomed to sudden loud noises, bangs, and changes in colours though the maids would still groan and grumble when some of the colours leave a stubborn stain.

The Queen, who had been anxious for the news, was surprised when their messenger arrived alongside one from Beika.

"Your Majesty." They bowed low the moment they stepped inside the receiving chamber.

"What news do you have for me." The Queen tries to keep the nervous energy bottled, much like how her King had taught her to hide her emotions. But her practice was lacking and something must have shown for the messengers hesitated and looked to each other. Finally, it was the messenger from Beika who spoke.

"Your Majesty, Gracious Queen of Ekoda, Custodian of the Clover Kingdom. Please remain calm. The news I bare may not be the one you wanted to hear the most."

The Queen stiffened at the titles that the messenger used, the full title. It did not bode well to hear it being said. It only meant something bad has happened.

"The Great King never arrived to the Grand City Beika. Our King had been searching for the past month, not having any luck. They wish to convey their condolence and promises to continue their investigations." The messenger had his head bowed low, eyes closed as though he too was guilty for presenting such grim news before the Queen.

The Queen would have collapsed into the chair if she had not been sitting on it. Her breath was suddenly stolen from her.

"My King..." Raising a hand to her mouth, the words caught onto her throat.

"The little evidence we found was of a burnt coach and broken arrows. Our King fears the Great King of Ekoda had fallen prey to bandits, or worse, those from the northern lands."

"Have they expanded towards Beika as well?" The Queen was grateful for a distraction. It was unsightly for a Queen to collapse in front of her subjects.

"Unfortunately so. The King and Queen also wishes to send their regret in not being able to make it for Prince Kaito's birthday as recent developments have made it dangerous for the Royal Family to travel." With his head bowed low, the messenger produced a small trinket from his sack. "The Royal Family sends their wishes to Prince Kaito and presents a small gift in celebration of his ninth birthday."

The Queen motioned for an attendant to take the gift.

"Please convey back our thanks." She tries to muster up some semblance of gratitude but the grief and pain of the King's disappearance was overwhelming. "And we would be most grateful if they could keep me informed of any new developments, it would be much appreciated."

"Of course Your Majesty." Another low bow and the tension in the air was slightly lifted.

She was about to dismiss the messengers when a final thought came to her.

"What of the situation regarding our northern neighbours?"

"Your Majesty, the situation is not looking well. The forces are trying to hold their ground but the Northern troops are pushing incessantly at our borders. The King wishes to offer aid to Ekoda but we have little to spare ourselves." The messenger replied regretfully.

She promptly dismissed the messengers, instructed the attendant to take the gift to Kaito, before sagging into a heap on the chair. Tears that she had been holding onto since the moment word was uttered is now falling like waterfalls, freely and without restraint.

"My King." She wept inside the silent chamber, each intake of breath felt like hot iron to her chest, piercing her heart with grief and sadness.

When her tears finally dried, the sun was about to set. The messengers arrived mid morning so she had been crying for a whole afternoon with none of the servants or advisors to bother her. A strange occurrence but Jii being who he was tended to pay attention to when they needed time alone, and this was one of those times. She did not want to leave her position to face the outside world but it was nearing dinner and Kaito would worry if she was not present. She took a small step away from the chair and desk and slowly walked towards the large heavy doors. Her hand paused at the handles as she tries reign in another bout of sadness. She had to stay strong from this moment on, even if it was only for their son.

"Oh how am I supposed to break the news to him. He would be devastated." She gripped the fabric on her chest, forcing back the tears on the rim of her eyes.

"Your Majesty." Jii's voice sounded soft through the door.

"Yes." She carefully opened the doors, revealing her disheveled face.

"Dinner will be served momentarily. Would you be feeling up to dining tonight or will you be retiring to the chambers?" Jii was trying to sound tactful but his worry for The Queen was evident.

"I'll in freshen up. Does Kaito...?"

"The Prince has yet to be informed of recent developments. He had sequestered himself in the study stating the need for practice. The gift from Beika had been left inside the Prince's bedroom."

"I'll go talk to him in the study. It might take a while." Although she was not sure what she could say, but she knew she had to tell Kaito some sort of truth even if she herself did not know whether her king is dead or alive.

"I will arrange for some of the servants to bring Your Majesty and His Highness their dinner to the study."

"Thank you Jii. You're a big help." The Queen was grateful for his loyalty and thoughtfulness. Jii bowed in gratitude for the praise.

Walking down the familiar corridors, The Queen stopped in front of a set of imposing doors. The wooden exterior was engraved with vines and clover, with colorful stones embedded as flowers to decorate the otherwise plain surface. Without knocking, she entered the room and was greeted by a flurry of feathers.

"'Kaa-san!" Kaito shoo-ed away the birds fluttering about, urging them to find a perch somewhere inside the room. Kaito had initially wanted to say something amusing but one look at her mother had him frowning. "Did someone bully you?" It was the only reason his mind could come up with at the look of distraught on his mother's face. "If someone is bullying you, I'll take care of it since 'tou-san is not back yet."

The Queen lunged forward and hugged Kaito.

"'Kaa-san? Is something wrong? If you can't tell me, then at least tell 'tou-san when he comes back in the next few days. You did say he would be for my birthday." Kaito strained his short arms to wrap around his mother, but ended up in an awkward pat on the back.

"Kaito." The Queen pulled away from her young son, carefully scrutinizing his face as though trying to memorize his features. "Your father, The King, he's...missing. Possibly dead."

"No! No! You're lying!" Kaito pushed away aggressively. "You're lying! You said 'tou-san would be back this week!"

"Kaito, son." She reached out only for Kaito to sprint away to the furthest corner in the study.

"It can't be! 'Tou-san, he's the best magician there is, there's no way he could just disappear!" Kaito grabbed onto his hair, shaking his head vigorously. "You're lying. No, it can't be..."

Tears began streaming from firmly shut eyes as the flock of doves encircled their distraught master. The Queen slowly walked over to where her son was, embracing him in a gentle hug as she patted on his back.

"Hush. It's alright. Everything would be fine." Even as the words left her mouth, she would not believe everything could be fine.

"How?" Kaito looked up tearfully, one of the doves perched on his shoulders and began rubbing on his cheeks with a woeful coo.

"He never arrived in Beika. The presiding King tried to look for him but only the coach was found." She whispered.

"Then 'tou-san, he could be...could still be...OK, right?" Kaito sounded much too hopeful and The Queen had not wanted to dash the hope away. But he had to face reality somehow and the earlier he could adjust to it, the less hallucination he had about his father's supposed survival, the better in the long run.

"Kaito Dear, your father...the King of Beika said he found signs of a struggle, killed bandits from the north. It is...unlikely that..." The Queen choked on her own words.

"Please, no. 'Kaa-san, 'tou-san couldn't be..." Kaito was openly weeping into his mother's clothes as he leaned into the hug.

The mother and son pair stayed inside study, no longer a pair of royalties needing to uphold their standings, but a pair grieving for the lost of their father and husband. Jii was ever so thoughtful to enter the study as silently as he could whilst pushing the food trolley. The Queen noticed and nodded her thanks, not wanting to speak for the moment but such acts of kindness should not go without acknowledgement. The trolley was filled with finger foods and sandwiches, a pot of tea was set on the side along with freshly ladled soup. On the shelvings below held cakes, sweets, and chocolate, no doubt the loyal assistant was thinking about cheering the young Prince up.

When his tears finally dried, his mother pulled him away but still within reaching distance as she nudged him with a cup of tea, urging him to drink. He gingerly took the cup and saucer, hands trembling slightly, and took a sip. He was surprised to find it was not the usual black tea but a soothing floral tea. Soup and a plate of food was placed on the floor in front of where he sat, his mother giving him a gentle but stern look telling him to eat.

"'Kaa-san, did you cry?" Kaito asked between bites, his voice finally returned after being broken from crying.

"All afternoon." The Queen admitted, staring down at the bowl of soup. She could feel the tears welling up at the rim as she tries to take another spoonful of liquid into her mouth. She held back the sniffle, gulping down the warm liquid, focusing on finishing the food rather than dwelling on current events.

Kaito finally noticed how his mother looked, eyes red and puffy, hair in disarray, her clothes were crumpled around the elbows and skirt from sitting at the same position too long. There were smudges of makeup around her eye and lips. Her whole posture screamed sadness and grief and yet there was nothing Kaito could do at the moment to relieve her of such emotions. He would pull out a trick if only his heart would stop aching.

"I'm sorry..." For some reason, Kaito had the urge to apologise.

"Kaito, what happened is not your fault you know." She laid a gentle hand on his head, patting it rhythmically.

"I must be a disgrace to 'tou-san, he taught me no matter what, a magician should always keep to his Poker Face so as to not distract from the his craft." Kaito broke off bits of bread and began feeding his doves, who waddled gingerly towards him instead of flocking over like the usual. Even his birds realised the gravity of the situation and acted more subdued.

"Honey, at times like these, you need to let your feelings out." She comforted as she pulled her son closer. "Everything would be better. It might take some time but this won't last forever."

Kaito nodded as he nibbled on the bread, not feeling overly hungry but since it was food his mother picked for him, he would finish his plate.

-1 Year later-

-Kaito: Age 9-

"Kaito? Would you open the door?" The Queen stood patiently outside her son's bedroom door, calling in a soft voice. For the past year ever since she broke the dreadful news to Kaito, her son had kept indoors and close to her. Whether if she was attending to state duties or sitting in the study, Kaito would be nearby. Other times, he would have disappeared somewhere and not appear for several days. Those times required The Queen to search out the servants or her advisors to look for her son. Usually, he would either be with Corbeau, a trusted advisor to her King during his time, or his teacher Monsieur Leblanc.

"Son, would you please open the door?" She knocked on the hardwood surface. She knew her son was inside.

"No."

She could actually hear the pout in his voice.

"Son, we need to discuss the celebration..."

"I don't want to celebrate my birthday! It's not the same anymore!"

Last year, they held off the celebration because of the news of The King's passing. She had thought her son was over this but it seems she was wrong.

"Don't you want to see the young prince from Beika? You were enthusiastic last time. They promised to come this year..."

Although the situation with their northern neighbour has yet to be resolved, the family has agreed to come for his son should they intend to celebrate the occasion.

"No!"

The Queen sighed, "alright then dear." She turned towards the two men she could trust who stood behind her. "Would you make sure he would at least come out for dinner?"

"Of course Your Majesty." Corbeau and Leblanc bowed as The Queen walked away. She could just make out the hushed whispers of talking before the door opened a sliver. She had to wonder why her son would respond to the two men but not to her.

Later in the week, she confronted the two men.

"I believe His Highness feels the lack of a male role model and therefore is trying to make up for it." Corbeau had been the King's advisor from the time he took the throne. The King had treated him like a brother and The Queen wishes to keep it that way. He is one of the very few who is gifted but not part of royal blood.

"His Highness has been trying to learn much from us, wanting to advance his own magic. We have been trying to instruct him but he only wishes to observe, stating he wanted to learn on his own." Leblanc was not only Kaito's teacher in general studies, he is a master in the craft of magic, able to perform illusions of the highest order, creating images beyond the audience's imagination. It was another reason why Kaito was so fond of the man.

"Do either of you have any suggestions?" She looked between the pair.

"If I may be so bold Your Majesty." Corbeau raised his hands, "if it is possible, we like to remain by His Highness's side. We will, with your permission, do our utmost to instruct him."

Seeing as there were no suitable candidates for now, she nodded and gave her consent. Maybe she could find someone to take up the role in the festivals and upcoming celebrations, there were always talented people present at the Founders' Celebration.

-10 months later-

-Kaito: Age 10-

Kaito sat stiffly next to his mother inside the Royal box in front of the stage. It was customary for the week to be filled with celebration and performances to commemorate the beginning of the Clover Kingdom. During the Founders' Festival, Royalties have no obligations to sit through all the events save three; the opening shows on the first night, the closing acts of the final nights, and the so-called Royal Show that puts on the best performances as selected by a panel of harsh judges. The week-long event was not just a celebration, but also a showcase where stage performers can show off their skills. It used to be a time when the King would also participate in one of the three shows but now that he is missing, Kaito had not wanted to come. The shows were bland without his father's magic acts. Perhaps in the near future, once he had several more acts, he would join into the festivities. For now, he will be forced to behave and sit through all the acts.

"Kaito? What's wrong?" The Queen observed the listless nature of her son.

"Nothing 'kaa-san, just..." Kaito wondered what he could say without sounding too snobbish or disrespectful. "Just think something is missing." He settled for something safe, but painful. He regretted his words as he noticed the poorly hidden wince from his mother.

"Well, it is slightly different. We had to make up for the lack of a celebration last year because of...well, you know, that reason." The Queen forced herself to pay attention to the short puppet play displaying the tale of the Ancient King battling evil and sealing the power of immortals.

Kaito looked apologetic and decided to drop the topic to pay more attention to the stage. He remembered his father saying that they could always garner knowledge from even those that does not share the same skills. Kaito still could not figure how puppetry could further his tricks but he would follow his father's teachings.

The pair of royals clapped in appreciation when the puppeteer stepped out to bow. Kaito was surprised to see the master being so young, a mere child when compared to the rest of the performers. If Kaito were to guess the age, he would put the boy's age to be around his own. From this distance, it should have been relatively easy to read the boy's features yet all he could make out were the similarities between this boy and himself. He could see the sparkle in the blue eyes, the gravity defying hair, and the reserved smile that was threatening to spill over into a wide grin. Light glinted off the overly large spectacles in a manner that should be intimidating but it only looked more mysterious. Kaito sighed, it should have been him up on stage making his parents proud instead of sitting down here but he could not find the energy to step up on the stage just yet, not without succumbing to the feeling of lost.

The boy exited the stage, towing the small theater with him, and was greeted by an elderly man and a small lady. They looked to be in a heated discussion and even though Kaito knew he should be paying attention to the next act, his eyes were continually drawn onto the boy's.

As though sensing Kaito's gaze, the boy turned back and looked directly at the prince. Kaito tried to act as though he wasn't caught staring but he knew a blush of embarrassment was forming. Letting his eyes drift back on stage, and trying to forget those piercing blue eyes and the knowing smirk, he focused his attention on the performance which happened to start off with a blanket of white fog covering the floor of the stage.

The performer, a young man with shoulder blond hair, bowed before snapping his fingers. Instantly, the fog cleared to reveal lush carpets of grass dotted with colourful flowers. Faintly, Kaito could hear trumpets playing and children's laughter. Now intrigued, he paid more attention on the performance, where a group of Cupids seems to be flying through the air.

The Queen took a look at her son, somewhat surprised to see the sudden interest, and decided this man might just be the answer to her recent problems. If she remembered correctly, the man on stage is the eldest son of a Duke. She waved one of the attendants over to deliver an invitation to join them for dinner. She wanted to see whether she can integrate him into their life to provide some male bonding time for Kaito.

Although Kaito believed his father's shows were more grandiose and more entertaining than the one currently on stage, those shows were more physical and illusion based. This man has induced hallucinations, most likely by mixing chemicals into the fog. It was something he had yet to learn, which was the only reason why he was paying so much attention. Not for the type of performance as he finds such shows lacking in actual skills, rather for the knowledge.

"Kaito," his mother caught his attention, "I've asked the man to accompany us for dinner."

Kaito's eyes widened marginally, he was just thinking how to sneak away backstage to ask the man and his mother had beat him to it.

She could see the enthusiasm in his eyes, internally she smiled at the sight. It had been long since he showed such emotions.

-4 Years Later-

-Kaito: Age 14-

"Prince Kaito." The man bowed and greeted the royal as he exited the gardens. Kaito nodded politely as a reply. Ever since the Founders Celebration four years ago, Gunter von Goldberg the Second had been staying with them at the castle. Often, he would be in the company of his mother, not that Kaito was blaming her for wanting the company of someone other than the court advisors. The man had been somewhat of an enigma. Even though they managed to find his history and his background, it was incomplete. They knew the man to be an orphan and was taken in by Duke von Goldberg but they were unable to find out anything else. At first, Kaito had not paid much mind to this but now that he was older and wiser, he knew something was not quite right.

"Von Goldberg, were you dining with my mother again?" Kaito asked, looking out onto the patio where his mother was sitting.

"Her Majesty had insisted."

Stranger still was the fact that the man had remained in the castle with them, never once contacting his parents, after that initial invitation sent by his mother. For the past few months, Kaito had been keeping a careful eye on the man. He had even brought up the issue with Corbeau and Monsieur Leblanc, who both agreed something was not quite right. They said they will also look into the issue, stressing any investigations made must be done in secrecy.

"Mother has been calling on you quite often these days." Kaito commented, intending to keep the conversation alive as they walked. "Was there anything in particular you two were talking about."

The would-be Duke laughed behind closed fists. "If Your Highness is worried that Her Majesty has been telling me embarrassing stories, then rest assured it was not so. Her Majesty simply wishes for someone to dine with her. We mainly talked about the mundane, not anything remotely about Your Highness."

Kaito was quite certain that was not all they talked about. Politics often creep up in his own conversation with his mother, along with the current situation up North. He had no doubts his mother would speak to the man to ask for a second opinion. Throughout these four years, his mother had somehow opened up to this man, placing as much trust in him as some of the older advisors in the court, matching the amount of trust she place in Corbeau.

"Say, what do you think about the current situation?" Kaito could not help but ask, knowing full well the man would never give an honest answer. It had always been that way ever since he first asked the man to teach him about the chemicals he had been using. In the end, the man only gave partial answers, stating Kaito was too young to learn. It may be why Kaito has so little trust in the man nowadays.

"The situation Your Highness?"

"Yes, with our Northern neighbours." Stopping in front of the doors leading to one of the smaller libraries inside the castle, where the man often take up residence during his free time, Kaito turned to face him.

"I can't say for certain. But I do know they seemed determined."

"What do you think their motivations are? Not only are they attacking us, but also Beika as well."

"Normally, it would be to either expand their borders or a contest for resource." He had his hand on the door knob. "If that is all Your Highness?"

"Yes, that is all. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon." Kaito stood until the man bowed out before retracing his steps towards the patio his mother was sitting in.

"Kaito." His mother greeted him with slight breathlessness. She had been lacking in strength and stamina lately, which had Kaito very concerned. Jii has now been permanently assigned to The Queen to see to her health, even if he was becoming too old for the job, he still took it with pride.

Sitting down at the table and thanking the elderly man for the tea, Kaito turned to really look at his mother.

"How are you feeling?" He took hold of the lone hand on the table, it was cold and clammy.

"I've been better. The sun would do me some good." Her smile was still as brilliant as ever, causing Kaito to smile in return. "I just had lunch with Gunter."

"I know, I bumped into him on the way." Kaito hesitated on his next action, not sure how to bring it up. He wanted to relieve some of his mother's burdens and the only way was to begin taking reign on the political situation in court. Even though he sat through enough of them he has yet to be recognised as part of the court (though his many suggestions had been taken with much enthusiasm). Officially, he would be crowned in 4 years and take up on his duties but, noticing the stress his mother is currently under, he wanted to push it forward.

"How have your studies been going?" His mother looked at him intently, Kaito figured she must have picked up on his moods.

"They're going well. Monsieur Leblanc is quite demanding though. Corbeau took time off yesterday to talk and oversee my studies. He told me he has been reassigned?"

"Yes, his skills are needed at the port cities. I wouldn't have pulled him out otherwise. It was lucky Gunter informed me of the events occurring at our ports. Corbeau would be needed for upcoming negotiations with the treaties but Gunter could fill in for him." She looked into the distance, Kaito felt she must have struggled with the decision to reassign one of her most trusted advisors away from the capital but trade pacts and the upkeep of the ports were crucial for their economy.

"You trust him a lot don't you, Gunter I mean." Picking up his own cup, he noticed the floral blend of tea leaves and looked at Jii, wondering what called for the occasion for this calming tea. Perhaps the elder man saw how he had been recently or was this more for his mother.

"Gunter is a nice man, having stuck with us ever since four years ago."

"He's been living with us for the past four years, makes me wonder if he misses his own family."

"I'm sure it's because he thinks of us as his family." His mother was about to say more but suddenly descended to a coughing fit. Kaito was quickly at her side, rubbing her back to soothe her aches. "I'm fine now Kaito." She gave him a reassuring pat but Kaito did not move from his position, crouching next to his mother.

"Maybe we should head back inside. The wind is beginning to pick up." Kaito looked to the trees wearily, even knowing they were safe within the castle walls, their Northern neighbours had been becoming bolder. There was no guarantee they would not attack them like this. "Come, let's not worsen your condition." Kaito gently lifted his mother up, noting the light weight and had to hold back the frown.

"You're just like your father when you act this way." His mother had been mentioning that a lot lately. It worried Kaito, and he hoped it was not because she is falling into a depressive state. Silently, Kaito brought his mother into the parlor, set up the same tea service and sat with her for the whole afternoon, listening to various stories and never once mentioned his concerns.

A week later, the worst had happened. Kaito ran through the hallways from the study. He had been going over some reports after the attack and subsequent death of his teacher. His mother had allowed him to head the investigation but so far, he had nothing. At times like he regretted not having more interest in some of his teacher's deductive reasoning lessons. However, that was a regret for another time, now he had more pressing matters.

"'Kaa-san!" Kaito opened the bedroom doors with force, banging them into the walls. The nurses and doctors inside all turned to look and bow to the prince. Dismissing them back to their task, Kaito briskly walked over to one side of the bed. He spared a moment to nod at Gunter to the other side of the bed, holding tight onto his mother's hand.

"Kaito." She replied weakly. "Everything's fine, the doctors know what they're doing."

"How did it happen?" Kaito was sure his mother would not be up to answer, instead turned to the only other occupant.

"Her Majesty suddenly collapsed during lunch, Your Highness." Gunter offered without taking his eyes from his mother. This was something that irked Kaito, Gunter's apparently devoted behaviour towards his mother. Kaito believed this all to be an act rather than genuine affection, but his mother had bought into it much to Kaito's chagrin. Most would have chalked up his behaviour as jealousy or a sense of betrayal but Kaito was not that shallow. There was just something not quite right with the man, how he behaves and act when in his presence and in the presence of others are so vastly different that it raises many alarm flags in Kaito's mind. He had not noticed this when he was younger, less experienced, now he knew better.

"Kaito." His mother urged, she tightened her grip around his. "It's really no big deal. I was only dizzy." She offered a worn smile. "However, in view of my recent health, I've decided to make sure the kingdom would not be without a Ruler." She turned to address everyone in the room. "I've written down instructions and placed them in the safe along with the Royal Seal."

No one but Kaito knew where that is, therefore it was only natural all attention was directed at him.

"Can I trust you to it Kaito?" She held tighter onto his hand, conveying the seriousness of the situation.

"Of course 'kaa-san." He smiled painfully. "But nothing would happen, you'll be better in no time." Kaito smiled just as brightly as he would at any other time, hiding the dull pain in his chest. Through the years, he had become more accustomed to hiding behind a mask, or the Poker Face as his father would call it.

Not wanting to obstruct the doctors any further, Kaito retreated back into the hallway.

"Jii?" Kaito called softly, knowing the elderly man to be nearby even when he was not inside the room.

"Yes My Prince?" He was quick to respond even in his old age.

"Can you keep an eye on 'kaa-san for me from now on? I have a feeling I might not be able to..." Kaito had a hunch that not to long, he too might suffer.

And he had been right in his assumptions. Not long after his mother fell ill, too sick to be away from her bed, she was transferred to a countryside castle for rehabilitation under the insistence of Gunter. Kaito had been suspicious but apparently, the man had managed to manipulate many of the court's advisor to agree to the action. In her absence, she actually left the man as acting regent, something that frustrated Kaito to no end. He had actually confronted his mother before she left.

"I want you to have the chance to experience everything before being tied down by your position." She said in a breathless voice. "I wanted you to live without regrets, that's why I don't want you to be held back by such matters. Live your life the way you want and when you've seen enough and became bored, come back and take up the throne." Her smile was still as radiant as ever even though she looked tired and worn. Jii accompanied her for the trip and for her recovery, leaving Kaito now literally in the den of lions. As long as his mother was alive and as long as Kaito is not yet of age, the man could only be acting regent.

-3 Years Later-

-Kaito: Age 17-

Kaito stood at the center of the grassy field, hands stretched out with a handful of seeds. His doves gathered around him, some pecking at the offered food as others crowded, some took perch on his shoulders. One particular dove attached itself onto his head, that one he left alone as said dove and its offspring had loved to make a nest out of his already nest-like hair. The castle had been silent, as always, ever since his mother moved into the countryside and Gunter took over. Even the decor inside the castle had changed, which prompted Kaito to actually move into one of the towers instead of using his usual bedroom. Some rooms, such as the throne room, the library, and the study had been left unchanged. Though Kaito wasn't sure for how long.

For the past few years, Gunter had been working to erode Kaito's power in court by replacing many of the older advisors with those in his pocket. It was succeeding. Now, Kaito was only a prince in name rather than by right. However, Gunter had not dared to remove him completely as only Kaito knew the whereabouts of The Queen's instruction as well as the Royal Seal. That was also the reason why his mother was still kept alive. Kaito had found, through his doves, that the man had been plotting to overthrow the royal family. Fortunately, there were still a few loyal advisors left in court to pass on information to Kaito, so had some of the castle staff. But that was not enough. Kaito knew instinctively that it would only be a matter of time before his mother and himself were removed from the scene.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito spied several movers carrying a large wooden crate into the castle. Curious, he threw the seeds onto the ground, before walking over to talk.

"Good morning." He greeted as the workers took a rest by the steps. The crate was larger than he expected, coming past his waist.

"Good morning young sir." It seems the workers were not from around town then, if they were unable to recognise Kaito by sight. Then again, he was dressed casually with his beige tunic and brown pants. Though by no standard was he scruffy or unkempt. At best, there men would think he was a squire or knight-in-training.

"What are you carrying?" Acting like an overly curious youngster, he dramatically peered part the sitting workers. "Looks really heavy." Kaito kept his speech more casual, hopefully reinforcing the image of being nobody of importance. It would not do for someone to inform Gunter of such incidents.

"A special order for Acting Regent von Goldberg. It's from all the way across the continent." One of the more gossipy worker patted on the wooden frame. "Said to be made by a mystic of some kind. Contains an all knowing spirit that can answer every question on land."

"Must be quite a prize." Kaito had an urge to destroy the thing, or at least render the item unusable. "But still, what is it? A human or something trapped inside the box?"

"No, no. Nothing like that! Though I can understand why you'd think so." The workers laughed instead of being horrified. "It's just a mirror, a large mirror with a gold filigree frame. But I doubt it holds any power. We've tried asking the darn thing when it arrived but it hasn't done squat."

"Guess he's been cheated if he paid for the thing." Kaito wouldn't pass judgement on the mirror's worth now. For all he knew, its powers could be real.

"That's the thing, the boys and I don't think the Acting Regent actually bought it." The elder worker leaned closer. "We think it was a gift or probably a bribe of some sort. There're more than enough mirrors around the castle, why would he need one more?"

"True." Kaito nodded before spying one of the castle staff walking towards the worker. Despite many of the staff changes, they would recognise him and the workers would suddenly become anxious if he revealed himself. "Well, I'll leave you to your work then. I've probably taken up too much of your time already."

"No problem lad! We'll likely see you around anyways." They waved at the departing Kaito before turning away with a groan. The castle staff was quick to start reprimanding them about no slacking off.

By the worker's sentences, it seems there will be a lot of moving in the near future. Kaito needed to make sure the things inside the study and library is safe from harm, which means drastic measures need to be taken.

"Time for a few well placed rumours and tricks." Kaito rubbed his hand in excitement. It had been some time since he last did anything outward to the castle's current residents.

Climbing across the wooden supports and decorative struts, he made a stealthy journey to his destined locations. After setting up several memorable props, he took a different route than before, passing through the throne room.

Kaito startled to a pause when the doors suddenly burst opened into the throne room. Gunter strode in, carrying an ornate wooden box under his arms. Curiosity burned, wondering about its contents and use. Gunter patted the box as though it was alive. The man confidently climbed the several steps up the platform to the newly curtained off wall behind the throne. Pulling on the golden cord by the side revealed the original wall with a large mirror hung at its center. Kaito watched as Gunter caressed the golden frame, fingers lingering on the more elaborate engravings, brushing away nonexistent dust. Kaito noticed an out-of-place hole at the base of the frame.

"Finally." Gunter spoke out loud, voice carrying far despite the spoken volume.

Moving himself to a more favourable location for eavesdropping and spying. Kaito watched as Gunter lift open the lid. Inside laid a brilliant red gem, shedding its glow into the empty hall. Gunter held the gem up to the meager sunlight, his own eyes as though entranced by the object.

"Good thing I left you out in the moonlight last night." He fingered the gem, letting it roll across the back of his hand before resting inside his palm. Gunter then fitted the gem into the strange hole before stepping back to admire the mirror. "Hm, I probably should test you out before I ask about the location of those instructions and seals."

Gunter tapped his chin in contemplation. "Something that I know to be true to test out the validity of the answers."

Kaito leaned closer, nearly falling off his perch. He had doubts about the functionality of the mirror but the man somehow believes the story. 'Perhaps there is a password or something to activate the mirror.' He thought to himself as he assessed the possible risk this mirror could pose. Maybe he could damage or steal it away.

Suddenly, Gunter snapped his fingers before standing up straighter to address the mirror.

"Mirror, mirror which I've mend, who's the best magician in these lands."

The mirror then became fogged, mists swirling inside the previously reflective silver surface. The gem flashed brightly once before settling into a constant pulse, like a heart to a person.

"Who asks?" An imperious voice boomed, the stone floors and walls compounding the echo inside the room. Kaito had the urge to cover his ears.

"It is I, Gunter von Goldberg, current regent to the Clover Kingdom." He stated with pride.

"Acting Regent you mean. You cannot fool me, as Pandora, I know all." A mask like face appeared on the mirror's surface in place of the swirling mist. "Allow this mirror to answer your question. You, Acting Regent, you are the best magician in these lands... For now."

"Hm, good enough for an answer. Now then, answer me this, where are The Queen's instructions and the Royal Seals?"

"No." The mirror reply before the mask began to dissolve.

"No? What do you mean no? I fixed you!" Gunter was outraged.

"By the light of the full moon will Pandora rise, shedding its light to an individual's darken path. Once a month the mirror will shine, a single question or a single task. Pandora give truth and answers, no more or less, for the individual's efforts." The mask faded away, voice fading with it also, and all that had been left was the reflective silver surface.

Gunter took the gem from the mount, now having used up all its power. Instead of the bright red ruby, it became a translucent diamond.

"So this means I can only ask once a month." Gunter huffed. "I'll have to reinvigorate the gem during the next full moon if I wanted my answers."

Kaito waited atop on the banister, carefully observing Gunter as he walked out with the wooden box holding the gem. He strained his ears to listen for the disappearing footsteps, and only when he was sure the man would not be returning to the room did Kaito jump down from his perch. Carefully, he circled around the throne towards the curtained wall. Instead of pulling on the golden cord, he ducked behind the heavy fabric to view the mirror. The mirror was smooth and cold to the touch, a contrast to the rough golden filigree. Kaito poked at the now empty molding noting the abnormal smoothness in texture.

"Guess to make sure the mirror won't talk again, I would have to make sure the stone stays away." Kaito muttered to himself. Slowly, the plan of stealing the gem came to mind.

To ensure his success, Kaito knew he needed to separate the box from Gunter, which means spying on the man. For three whole days, Kaito tailed him using a variety of secret passages and disguise. He found the box was never out of his reach. His first trial to see how Gunter would react to his attempt was to send a flock of doves accidentally in his direction during his walk to the throne room, to which the man threw down several vials and produced a fog that lulled his doves to sleep.

"Prince Kaito. Please make sure your doves would not enter the castle unnecessarily. It may cause great hindrance to those who reside within it." Gunter acted as though he was Kaito's guardian and admonished the prince in front of the castle staff. Though Kaito had expected this seeing as the man was trying to discredit him.

However, instead of returning to his room in the tower, Kaito discretely followed through the hidden passage. Looking down into the throne room, he realised Gunter was holding council.

"Tell me advisors, is there anything happening in the Clover lands that requires my attention? Has anything happened recently?" Gunter looked genuinely interested though Kaito knew it was another act.

"My Lord, there are several towns that still refused our tax rate." One of the newer advisors called out.

"Then we'll send enforcers and the army to put them in their place." His ruthlessness suddenly showed itself. "Use force to those who still refused to enact my words."

His proclamation was met with silence, none dared to disobey.

"My Lord, it is about time the Capital held a festival. Might I suggest we ask the best performers from the land to come to the capital and show their skills?" At least someone was brave enough to dissolve the tense atmosphere.

The Clover Kingdom takes pride in holding events and festivals of all manner, most notable being the Founders Festival as it drew the most number of performers from all across the lands. But periodically, the Clover Kingdom would hold festivals of smaller scale, some annually such as Day of Harvest, others sporadically and more localised. The festival hinted by the advisor was one held periodically, sometimes as often as once every two months, sometimes as far apart as once every six months. Seeing as the inhabitants were becoming slightly agitated due to the rise in taxes and the lowered harvest, it was wise for the advisor to suggest to host a festival to boost the morale of the people.

"Best performer...then I should make an appearance as well." Gunter smiled to himself. "I should grace the people with my skills." His confidence in his skills drew in approval from the advisors, clapping and words of encouragements echoed in the room.

This gave Kaito an idea. It seems the man is quite vain, thinking his skills are the best (Kaito should have guessed from the way he tested the mirror). Therefore, to prevent the man from asking the question that he really wanted to know, Kaito had to threaten his position and perception of being the best magician, to force him to ask the same question each month.

Going back to the tower, he rummaged about the many boxes and troves to look for something to disguise in but still allows him to show his skill. He came across a white treasure box with brass ribbon securing the joints and corners. There was a large padlock securing the lid, which Kaito made quick work of. Inside laid a set of carefully folded white tuxedo, with a matching top hat. Fingering the material, he noticed the smoothness of the texture. He pulled the various garments out, including a pair of gloves and shoes that settled at the bottom of the box. It was all nice and good, the clothes were well made and the shoes fit comfortably, but it was still lacking something. As he tried the garments on, he noticed that this was tailor made for a magician with its many hidden pockets and several well placed loops for hiding equipment. As he pulled on the accompanying cape, he still felt something was missing. It was as though the box was withholding back on him. Kneeling down to search the now empty box again, he felt around the sides and lid. It was then he noticed a secret compartment on the lid. Taking out a lockpick, he twisted the wire into the small hole and carefully angled it. This lock was more difficult than the one securing the box but it still took Kaito very little effort.

Kaito could feel the moment the lock clicked and the flap automatically flipped opened. Inside laid a velvet pouch embroidered with green clovers and three letters at the center.

KID.

Carefully, he pulled on the white drawstrings and gently pried apart the pouch. His finger came into contact with the cool surface of glass. Pulling out the object, the metal frame glinted with the small candle light. The monocle laid gleaming in the palms of his hand.

"Could 'tou-san be KID? The mysterious phantom that roamed the country during that time of civil unrest, the chivalrous thief that stole from the corrupted and gifted to the poor..." Kaito was in awe. He remembered the stories told to him by Corbeau, the ones about a white clad thief who appears and disappears with the rise and fall of the moon. Though this story was not well remembered by now, its tale lost in time and many had forgotten the phantom.

"Well, all the more to revive the legend then. This time as a phantom magician to wow the audience." Kaito let a grin form, one that promises mischief and surprises.

Placing the eye ware onto the bridge of his nose, he felt his disguise was complete and sneaked out of the castle.

There was still some time before dusk would settle so Kaito stuck to the edges of the shadows as he moved around the city. It would not do for people to notice him too early on, he wanted to make an entrance. Many of the inhabitants were making their own way back home and Kaito felt that now would be a good time to make his debut.

"Ladies and gentleman." Kaito, standing on the ledge of the fountain in the middle of the city square, announced with fanfare and his flock of doves. "Allow this humble magician to entertain you for the evening!" His voice rang loudly, drawing attention from walking pedestrians and nearby shop owners. Some more curious pedestrians decided to crowd around Kaito as he let loose a shower of flower petals. Kaito greeted several of the ladies, gifting them with roses of many colours, who swooned and sighed at his gentlemanly behaviour. He made sweets appear and made the children laugh with delight. The men were particularly fond of how the doves would perform their acrobatic acts (in particular flipping several lady's skirt and stealing their hair ribbon). At the end of the show, the crowd was more than double than what Kaito had started with.

"Thank you, thank you." Kaito took his top hat off and bowed with flourish. People began throwing coins in his direction. "Please, you're all too kind." He was about to replace the hat on his head but realised many actually managed to throw their money into the hat. Taking them out and pocketing them, so that he could donate to the nearby orphanage on the way back, he thanked his audience once more before vanishing with a puff of smoke as he let out several of his doves to pick up the remaining coins on the floor. He felt that he made a good impression and would return to this location in several days.

-3 Months Later-

Kaito made many performances around the city and in several of the nearby towns. Each night, he would steal out of the castle in the KID costume and return before dawn breaks. He was careful to hide his activities from prying eyes, not that anyone would bother looking for him. He also made several trips to the City Center, taking note of people's response to the appearance of KID. The inhabitants only sang praises, talking excitedly about the performance and wondering when the next performance would be. His donations as KID were also well received. Passing by an orphanage, he heard the caretakers thanking his alter ego for the gifts. KID always leave the money in a white pouch embroidered with clover and roses, as well as leaving small toys for children for donations to orphanages. His donations to the church were more subdued, and less in terms of money, but with no less extravagance.

Word of KID's doing also filtered back into the castle, as the servants chatted about seeing a white dressed figure as they went about their business in the early evening sun. These conversations somehow made it back to Gunter's ears.

"A philanthropist." Gunter scoffed. He carefully inserted the Pandora stone into the mirror. He would done this earlier if not for the preparation for the upcoming festival. There was much work to be done if he wanted to make his show spectacular.

Once the stone was in place, the mirror surface fogged as the stone pulsed.

"Mirror, mirror which I've mend..." Gunter paused, he knew he should ask the mirror the whereabouts of the Royal Seals and The Queen's instruction, but recent news somehow unsettled his pride and he wished to know about them.

'There's always next month.' He justified to himself. His pride was more important than those instructions seeing as he already has much power of the governance of the Kingdom.

"Mirror, mirror which I've mend, who's the best magician in these lands."

Mist inside the mirror swirled to reveal a white mask at the center.

"You may be a great magician, Acting Regent, but you cannot compare to the Phantom known as KID."

"WHAT?!" Gunter roared loudly, not caring if the guards outside heard his shout. Thankfully, none dared to enter the throne room. "How could this be?!"

"KID the Phantom made an everlasting impression, rising from the past and mystifying his audience. It is without a doubt KID is the best magician in these lands." Pandora was helpful this time round, elaborating the answer even though it seems Gunter asked multiple questions.

"Who's KID then, I demand an answer. It is certain that this is a pseudonym, an alias to avoid capture."

The mirror became silent, as though debating whether the statement was a new question. In the end the mask began to dissolve back into the darkness as its voice echoed softly inside the room. "Once a month the mirror will shine, a single question or a single task. Pandora give truth and answers, no more or less, for the individual's efforts."

Gunter swore loudly, swinging his arm that it hit the wine glass on the table beside him. He was frustrated. How could someone be better than him. He must find out the identity of KID and take them out of the picture. Calling for the guards outside, he instructed several to head into town and find more information about this KID figure.

Up on the rafters, Kaito had to hold back the snicker as he saw how agitated the man became. He knew his efforts had paid off, though hearing about the newest orders had Kaito worried.

'No matter, I can perform in the next town over.' Carefully, he slid out of the throne room using the secret pathways to head back to his tower.

On the way, he was met by a guard, telling him Gunter had wanted to see the Prince.

"You wanted something from me?" Kaito kept his voice amiable and lighthearted.

"It has been some time since I've heard from your mother." Gunter left his seat on the side of the throne. Kaito was pleased to note that at least Gunter would not be flaunting his powers in front of him. "Have you heard from her?"

"You've never even let me visit, how would I know..." Kaito muttered softly, unheard by Gunter, before speaking up louder.. "I haven't received word. I'm assuming all has been well. Jii is with her so he would let me know if something happened."

"I'm just worried about her, that was all. The instructions and seals…?"

"They're still safe." Kaito admitted. Of course this would be the reason why Gunter would want to see him. "They are still held at the secret location. Was there something you need the seals for?"

"No no." Gunter quickly amended. To Kaito, it sounded desperate. "Just making sure everything has been prepared."

"I was in the middle of something, seeing as that will be all of your questions…" Kaito left it opened purposefully, wondering if Gunter had other motives. And it paid off this time, for Gunter quickly latched on.

"I had been wondering whether you have heard rumours about a famous magician lately."

"There are many magicians around the City, you'll have to be more specific than that." Kaito pretended to be impatient.

"A certain magician in white, goes by the name of KID. There were tales about this particular person a long time ago, some suspected to be the late King." Gunter was fishing for information.

"If 'tou-san were alive, he would have come back already!" There was no need to pretend to be agitated or mad. Just thinking about the possibility was enough to have Kaito riled up. "If you are insinuating this KID is my father then you better have some good evidence backing it up. Otherwise…" Kaito snapped his finger and his dove appeared, hoping what seems like a water balloon.

"My apologies Your Highness." Gunter bowed. "I had not meant you any disrespect."

'As if.' Kaito gritted his teeth and left without a single word. 'How dare he assume 'tou-san would just abandon us!'

Though Gunter's suggest had given Kaito an idea and the next day, he notified the man about his planned journey to visit his mother. Not many had known but Kaito had instructed Jii to move his mother again, which was the main reason why Gunter had been unable to locate or get in contact with the Queen. If he was correct, his mother should be on another continent, far away from the prying eyes of Gunter, and hopefully safe against all his devious schemes.

Gunter, of course, saw this as an opportunity and allowed for Kaito to proceed with his trip. Unknown to him, Kaito was just planning to travel across the land and spread the name of KID to beyond the measly few nearby towns. It would further KID's reputation and aggravate the Acting Regent even more. However, should the situation permit, he would make a trip to visit his mother on the way.

On the fine morning, just before the sun rose, and as dews formed on leafy greens, Kaito checked his supplies once more before saddling up for his journey. He had deliberately chosen this hour to avoid suspicious eyes. He had mentioned to the staff that he would be leaving today, though the actual time was unknown. Passing through the gates-keeper, who had been startled from his nap, he cantered off quickly into the distance. Kaito did not plan to stop until late afternoon, to make sure he would not be followed by Gunter's spies.

-1 Month Later-

Gunter strolled along the corridors, carrying his precious wooden case housing the gem that he named as the Heart of Pandora, towards the throne room where his Mirror laid hanging. By chance he saw a white stallion galloping through the castle gates, whinnying loudly for attention. He recognised it to be the Prince's horse though it was missing the saddlebags to the side. Somehow, he knew something must have happened and he nearly could not contain the small smile from forming. It would not do for the Regent to smile at the possible disappearance of the Prince. He stood and watched as the stable boy rushed over to calm the horse, pulling onto the reins to stop it from its frantic movements. There were tense moments as the stable boy seems to be calling for the guards, who immediately came running into the scene.

Not long after, a guard ran up to him by the place near the window overlooking the courtyard where all the events had been taking place.

"Sir, the stable boy has informed us that the Prince's horse had arrived but without the Prince." The guard said with a grave voice.

"Send out men to search for Prince Kaito." He replied, without much urgency. It was more of looking the part of shocked rather than actually being shocked by the news. "Also, what news do you have of the Queen's whereabouts?"

"Apologies sir, we have yet to find Her Royal Majesty."

"Her location is of utmost importance. The Royal Seals are missing, along with the Prince!" This was what he was more concerned about. The Seals are implements that helps sanctify agreements. Without them, this kingdom would be useless to him and his people.

The guard bowed low and replied obediently to the order before rushing out as he called for his comrades. Gunter did not bother hiding the forming smirk as he neared the Mirror. It would now only be a matter of time, even if he had to turn the whole castle upside down to look for the Seals. "At least there's still the grieving Queen should everything come to the worst."

Placing the gem into the centre hole, he waited as the gem flashed bright. With a finger upon his chin, he wondered what he could ask this time. Maybe he should follow up with last month's question, after all he was curious about the actual identity KID.

"Mirror, mirror which I've mend, who's this KID you've mentioned, who you've said is the best in these lands."

The mist inside the mirror swirled and twirled, forming itself into a white mask.

"This KID, the Phantom, the greatest magician, is the heir of Clover Kingdom, the one and only Prince Kaito, who still lives in these lands."

The voice sounded smug even if the white mask displayed no emotions. Gunter let out a cry of rage.

"Nonsense! The Prince's horse just returned without him! He has, without a doubt, encountered the bandits and had not survived!" Gunter yelled in frustration not caring how his voice could travel beyond the room. The guards surrounding the throne room were all loyal to him only, as are many of the castle's staff, therefore he did not have to fear about being overheard or accused of treasonous acts.

"I am Pandora and I only speak the truth. Prince Kaito is still alive in these lands, and he is KID the Phantom Magician, beloved by all and hailed by many. He is the one gifting the people with wonderment and joy through his craft and skills of magic beyond anyone's comprehension."

"Stop praising him!" Gunter flailed out his hands, knocking over an ornamental vase by the side and splattering the ground with water and fresh flowers. "He is but a boy, a child, and an apprentice magician. He should not be KID! He CANNOT be KID!"

"Prince Kaito IS KID whether you want it to be or not." Pandora slowly retreated, its voice disappearing into a soft echo.

"I haven't finished questioning!" Gunter had half the mind to break the Mirror into a thousand tiny pieces but stopped himself for this is his only method for gathering information. He needed to plan and he needed people he could trust to carry out his tasks. After taking out the gem, he carefully returned it into the wooden box. His mind was running wild with ideas and possibilities. Though first thing's first, he had to write the letter home to send for his men.

Elsewhere far away from the castle, Kaito trudged through the dense forest on a rarely used path. A fortnight ago during the night he had been camping out by the forest's edge, he was ambushed by, what he assumed to be, bandits. Their accents gave away their Northern descent and immediately Kaito suspected it to be more than just the general thievery. Upon sensing intruders, his doves and horse had kicked up a fuss and began making so much noise that woke Kaito from his slumber, just in time before one of the men had stabbed him. He of course retaliated, disarming and injuring many of the men though never to the point that caused irreparable damage. Afterwards, he escaped with all of his supplies, again his luck had helped him keep his belongings safe. He rode the horse to the nearest town before letting it run back to the castle. His white mound was smart enough to learn the route back towards the castle and Kaito knew someone would soon realise what had happened to him. Most of his unneeded supplies were sold at the town, as well as having KID giving several impromptu performances, much to the joy of its inhabitants. After the stop, Kaito had intended to make his way to visit his mother, though he soon discovered he was being spied upon. It was for that reason which Kaito had opted to travel through the forest instead of sticking to the plains where it would have been easier, and faster, for travelling on foot.

Lunging up the saddlebags higher on his shoulders, he winced when he placed too much weight on his right ankle. Sometime during the past hour, he had inadvertently sprained it, making travel even slower. Sighing he looked for a place to rest, coming to a stop by a small stream. He slipped out of his footwear and submerged his foot into the soothing cold water. Whistling loudly, he called for one of his doves over.

His doves responded almost immediately as the sound echoed through the air. A fluttering of feathers and wings had all his birds standing around the surrounding grass, on his shoulder, and one particular on the tops of his head. He gave that particular dove a scratch, who returned the gesture by nibbling on his fingers. Surveying his flock, one particular dove who stood diligently on a nearby rock caught his attention and she flew onto his lap.

"Lovely, can you see if you can spot somewhere I can stay for the night?" Kaito asked in a gentle tone as he patted her head. "Somewhere away from the elements…"

Even before he could finish his sentence, the bird flew up in the air, cooing softly. Several others on the grass looked up towards the sound and flew to meet said dove. Kaito paid attention to how his doves were communicating with one-another before each flying in a different direction. He chuckled as he appreciated his doves' intelligence.

"You guys never cease to amaze me." He told the rest of his doves with affection, who all cooed in response in different tones and volumes. The one on his head even gave him a peck on the scalp as though to say 'you really didn't know?'.

After an hour of resting by the stream, and eating some of the dried fruit and bread from his pack, his doves returned. One of the flock had a small flower, not native to the surroundings, in his beak.

"I guess you found something." Kaito plucked out the flower, the red petals a stark contrast to the green stem and black center. Gathering up his belongings, he motioned for his dove to lead the way. The dove sat on his shoulders and nudges Kaito in a specific direction. The rest of his flock decided to hide back on his person rather than take flight.

After half an hour of walking upstream, Kaito came across a house with a bridge and path connected to it. There was a rather large garden with a side for vegetable patch and another as a flower bed, where he could easily spot the flower currently tucked up behind his ear, and just beyond was a glassy greenhouse. The small cobble path leading up to the front entrance was worn with frequent use, though the condition of the house's exterior was kept relatively well maintained. There was a worn muddy path, devoid of grass, leading from the front door towards the stream, bypassing the actual cobble path, possibly used for fishing or gathering water. It was evident the house is occupied.

Knocking on the door, Kaito received no reply. He waited patiently but after fifteen minutes, he decided to try opening the door. To his surprise, it opened without much effort.

With the limited visible lighting, the inside of the house seemed quite clean. Not a speck of dust or dirty clothing lying around. The owners of the house were also very organised as he spotted a small series of shelves, each holding a myriad of a particular type of ornament. The top-most shelves were dedicated to gems, it seems, starting with the first being a red gem, then proceeding down the spectrum. The next set of shelves had metallic trinkets, copper, bronze, gold, and silver shone brightly in the shadows. The third shelf held books of every sort, though it was arranged by author from A to Z. The final and lowest shelves held...well Kaito wasn't sure what they were as he was unable to make sense of them.

"Hello?" Kaito called out loudly as he stepped into the threshold. "Anybody home?" Not that he was expecting much of an answer.

He took another look out the doors, the sun was beginning to set and the cold air was sweeping into the otherwise warm house.

"No use in staying out in the cold. Maybe I can explain the situation when the owners arrive back." It was clear the house accommodates more than one person. The amount of knick-knacks scattered between the foyer and the dining room indicates there were also pets. He picked up on a brown feather lying just to the side of the shelves where birds would normally prefer to perch. Stepping into the kitchen, he found the place to be extremely clean, to the point that Kaito could almost hear the squeaks as he ran his finger over the countertop. He pulled out one of the wooden chairs from around the table and slumped into the seat. His bags fell in a lump next to him as his eyes drooped close due to exhaustion. His doves carefully extracted themselves and positioned around the various surfaces before they too closed their eyes.

An hour later, the front doors opened, though Kaito had not registered the sound for he was in too deep of a sleep. The inhabitants of the house entered one by one, each shedding their outer clothes and outdoor shoes. The first to hang up the coat was the eldest of the lot, with a five-o'clock mustache and tired eyes, he trudged his way towards the living room to have some down time. The next was an attractive female, with bright red eyes and equally alluring hair. She had in her arms a sleek black cat who was purring due to his mistress's attention. They went deeper into the house, turning at the small doorway that led to the basement. After them were a pair of female, chatting away as the bespectacled girl waited patiently at the side. The other handed the girl an empty wicker basket before removing her outdoor shoes. She had to duck in time for a brown hawk to fly into the house. The hawk perched herself on the shelves, preening her feathers as she waited for the final inhabitant to enter. The last to enter was a young male, dressed far too formal for his age. His blond hair had large amounts of dirt and leaves on it, which the brown-haired girl helped clear a majority of in the foyer. When the three made sure they had not brought in any unwanted dust into the house, the girls headed into the direction of the kitchen and dining room whereas the boy up the stairs and into his bedroom.

"KYAAA!" The pair of girls screamed, drawing everyone's attention. Kaito jumped up, his doves fluttered about him, and was looking for a weapon to defend himself against. The only thing he had his hands on were his bags, which he placed over his head in time before the mop made contact with his head. The brown-haired girl wielded the mop like a sword, swinging at Kaito with ferocity.

"Wait, wait." Kaito ducked and dodged, discarding the bag onto the nearby floor before jumping onto countertops and over the furniture. "I don't mean any harm." He made a flip to land behind the girl and took hold of the mop's handle.

"Get away from me pervert!" The girl in his arms struggled, wriggling to free herself as she tries to take a swipe at Kaito with the mop.

From the corridors, there were several shouts of "Aoko!", "Aoko-san", and "Nakamori-san" in three distinct voices of varying loudness. It was followed by a rush of footsteps, though one set was more subdued than the other heavier two sets.

"Aoko, I'll help you!" The bespectacled girl took up the nearest kitchen implement, which happen to be a wrought iron frying pan, and swung in Kaito's direction. He had to take several quick steps away from the girls to avoid being bludgeoned.

"Now that's just dangerous. You'll give someone a concussion if you're not careful. Allow me to help." Kaito snapped his fingers and the pan was quickly replaced with a bouquet of fresh flowers from the garden. The mop changed itself to a feather duster with much shorter reach, though Kaito wasn't sure if that was an intelligent move seeing as the girl was starting to lunge at him. He ducked just in time as the feather duster was lashed out at him, he felt the rush of wind rustling his hair. "Really women, you're just too aggressive. How you'll find yourself a husband is a bit beyond me…"

Kaito had to do a few backflips to avoid more attacks on his head. He needed to find a replacement for that feather duster soon else his head would undoubtedly suffer a blow.

"How DARE you!" Aoko pushed him back towards the corridor where his back met with another's chest. Arms circled around, trying to hold him in place. "'Tou-san!"

"Aoko." He greeted with a stern voice. "And who are you? How did you come in here!" He shouted into Kaito's ear.

"I can hear you just fine…" Kaito muttered as he tries to wriggle his way free but gave up halfway. He had intended to talk to the house's inhabitants after all. If the girl, Aoko he reminded himself, had not suddenly shouted he would have calmly approached them. "The door opened when I knock."

"Who was the last one out?" The man turned to look at the three girls and the boy, each stared at one-another as none knew the answer. He then turned his full attention to the boy in his arms. "You. You're a thief aren't you? That's why you were in here."

"Not a thief." He stated. "I wouldn't enter a locked house unless the situation was dire or calls for it. I was merely trying to find a place to stay for the night, away from the elements…" Kaito shifted to ease off the weight on his leg, the injury was becoming bothersome, not so much as painful but the twinge is constantly telling him he over exerted on the leg.

"Then who are you?" The elder man urged, he may have loosened his hold slightly but the hand was still wrapped around Kaito in a not-so-choking hold.

"He should be someone of Royal descent." The blond had Kaito's sack in one hand and several wooden carvings of border passes in the other. "I assume you are travelling incognito?"

"Hey! Don't rummage through someone's things." Kaito somehow loosened himself just enough to leap towards the blond and his hawk, who flew away with a fluttering of feathers towards the countertop. White doves suddenly made room for the larger predatory bird by shuffling away in a collected group. "Don't you know it's rude?"

"Same as breaking and entering." The blond kept the bag out of the way. Kaito leaned in but placed too much weight on his ankle. Pain shot up his leg and he stumbled mid-step, falling into a graceless heap and barely missing the table's corner but hitting full force on the floor. The female of the group gasped at the loud thud.

"Oh look what you've done Hakuba-kun." Kaito heard the girl, Aoko, mutter as he lost consciousness.

It was nighttime when Kaito next woke up, he was lying on the couch with a damp cloth over his forehead. He felt blankets to have been tucked around him and his shoes removed at some point. Lifting the cloth away before sitting up, and subsequently bombarded with a dizzy spell, he found a cat and a hawk staring at him.

"Uh...hi?" Kaito waved towards the two animals, who promptly walked out of the room. Kaito presumed they went to gather the rest of the house's inhabitants.

Kaito was looking at the bandaging around his ankle. The salve smelled funny but at least it was numbing the pain somewhat. He made a quick check of is belongings, grateful that they only looked through the top layer of clothes and had not gone further. The KID costume was still snugly fitted at the bottom of the bag and the monocle was still in the velvet pouch. The wooden passes were placed on the low coffee table beside the bag, which Kaito quickly placed back into the bag. It was difficult to attain all the passes, even as a Prince, and losing them would be near-irreplaceable for him.

"I see you're awake." The blond was first to come in with the hawk on his shoulder. He lit several wall lamps around the room with the candle he was holding and made the fireplace burn brighter. "I must apologise for my earlier actions. It was not my intention to cause you undue injuries."

"Yea, no worries. I should have been more careful." As much as he wanted retribution, Kaito knew this situation calls for politeness if he wanted to at least secure a roof over his head for the night.

"Ok, start talking." The elder man sat in a nearby wooden chair facing Kaito.

"Well, where to start…" Kaito wondered how much he should tell these people. Though it was strange that they don't know him by sight.

"A name would be good." The blond too his seat next to the elder man. Aoko and the bespectacled girl sat near to the doorway but the redhead plonked herself next to Kaito, leaning extremely close into him.

"As you have said, I am of Royal descent. I'm the Prince of the Clover Kingdom, Kuroba Kaito."

"Interesting. And what is a Prince doing so far away from the castle?" The redhead brushed her hand up Kaito's forearms, likely in an attempt to seduce the prince, though Kaito moved farther away from the girl.

"I was…" Now came the tricky part, should he stick to the truth and tell these people he was chased by bandits that was most likely sent by Gunter, or should he tell them the cover story of him travelling to visit his ailing mother. Maybe he could spin another tale about him wanting to travel and see the sights. These people don't seem to want to harm Kaito, nor do they seem to know much about what was going on in the capital. It would be safe to assume they don't have any connection to Gunter and should be considered safe to tell the truth. "I was travelling to see the Queen, though I was met with bandits sent by the Acting Regent."

"That's horrible." Aoko looked towards her father. "Can we let him at least stay here until his leg is healed?"

"I'm not about to turn out someone in need." The man grumbled. "But he'll be rooming with Hakuba-kun. Are you ok with that?"

"It's fine." Hakuba nodded.

"You know, I think I prefer the couch." Somehow, even though Kaito wanted to sleep in a bed, his doves would not want to share a room with the hawk. "That is if you all don't mind."

Everyone of the occupants shook their head or shrugged. Kaito said his thanks to both his host and to Lady Luck for landing him with such hospitable people.

"But perhaps you could all introduce yourselves?" Kaito asked, else he would be reduced to calling them by the nickname he had in his head.

"Aoko is Nakamori Aoko. Aoko works in the town as a bakery assistant with Momoi Keiko over here." Aoko gestured to the girl next to her before directing attention back at the two males. "That's Aoko's 'tou-san, who works as a security officer in town."

Kaito then turned his attention towards the men.

"Hakuba Saguru. I help out with security whenever there's a need. Otherwise I do the odd jobs here and there." He whistled for his hawk, who promptly landed on his outstretched arm. "This is Watson. Just be careful of her sharp claws and beak."

"As long as she wouldn't attack my flock, I'm sure we can get along fine." Kaito reached forward to try and pet the hawk but she turned away in disdain. "I guess she doesn't like me much. Though the cat seems to love me somehow." At his feet was the sleek black cat, purring and rubbing himself at Kaito's legs.

"That's Lucifer. He's been called as Satan's pet many times, trapping men and mice before unleashing his claws." The girl sidled up towards Kaito once more. This time latching onto his forearm. "I'm Koizumi Akako, I do fortune tellings in town. Would you like me to read yours? For a small price of course."

"You're not going to ask me for my soul are you?" Kaito leaned as far away as he possibly can.

Akako let out an amused laugh. "What do you take me for? A witch? Though I am often confused with that seeing as I own a black cat." She patted on her knees and the cat jumped up obediently. "Even if I am a witch, I wouldn't be an ordinary one. Many do call me the Scarlet Witch."

"Well, you know who I am and why I'm here. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to pay any of you back for the hospitality. I would most likely leave when my ankle is healed but I might need a few more days just so I could gather the supplies I need for my journey."

"Don't worry kid, you can stay here for as long as you need." The elder Nakamori was not about to boot someone out of the house, especially not someone being pursued by the Acting Regent. It goes against his moral code. "It'll probably take you a few weeks. Though I do hope you'll help around the house at least."

"Of course." Kaito nodded before greeting each one of them a good night. Aoko was the last to leave, handing over a plate of bread with several pieces of fruit.

"I supposed you haven't had anything to eat. Just leave the plate on the table when you've finished." She made a round to secure the doors and windows before bidding Kaito a good night.

It was not an extravagant meal, but Kaito was hungry. He would have scarfed down the food should his manners allowed him to do so. He broke of several pieces of the bread crust to feed his doves before he taking big, frequent, bites of the bread and apple before rising from the couch. He tested the ankle, the twinge was still present, and slowly made his way towards the kitchen.

After two days staying inside the house, Kaito managed to understand all their quirks and traits. The eldest of the Nakamori, which Kaito affectionately called him the Inspector, rose with the break of dawn and tries to tip-toe out of the house but would always fail as he inevitably would bump his toe on the shelves near the doorway. However, he was not the earliest to wake, for Aoko, whom he likes to call Feisty, and her friend Keiko, somehow that reminds Kaito of being transparent all the time (whether it was due to the lack of presence or the way she shows her emotions on her face) and likes to call her Transparency, would wake a few hours before dawn. They, being the baker's assistant had to be in the kitchen before the baking start. Though funnily enough they never return until late in the afternoon, often coinciding with the return of the rest of the household. The two pets, Watson (Birdy) and Lucifer (Kitty) had taken quite a liking to Kaito, though not so much on his doves, which had been of some concern though as long as they weren't fighting, Kaito could cope with them all being inside the same room. The Blondy Hakuba, whom Kaito found out to be more than just a security help, was actually a detective. Though seeing as their town was quite small, most of the time he would be working on lost items and missing pets. The final member of the household, the self-proclaimed fortune teller, comes and goes as she please. Sometimes it seems as though she had disappeared altogether.

"You're Scary." Kaito commented during lunch when Akako suddenly popped into existence in the living room that Kaito normally sleeps during the night.

"I take that as a compliment." Akako gave him a disarming smile, holding a plate of food with more than enough for the two of them and the pets. She offered some to Kaito, who took the first sandwich with some hesitance. "Don't worry, I don't like to do the whole poison-gag even though I am called the Scarlet Witch. I would rather prefer actual cursing and spellwork than poison."

"I thought you said you weren't a witch." Kaito looked questioningly at the sandwich in his hands.

"I'm not. Technically speaking I'm a sorceress." She sat next to Kaito, close enough so that their forearms would be touching. Placing the plate onto the coffee table, she reached out, lifted Kaito's chin with her finger and stared directly into his eyes. "Though I prefer to be called an enchantress."

Kaito froze. His whole body felt numb and cold and he thought he heard cherubs singing in the distance. Jerking, he scooted farther away, removing himself from her touch. She chuckled into her fist.

"You are quite strong-willed, young Prince." Settling herself back into her end of the couch, she bite into her own sandwich. "Maybe I'll offer you a simple warning then since you entertained me so."

Kaito lifted his eyebrow. First she wanted to seduce him, then she doesn't take offence at being rejected, now she's offering advice? Shouldn't she try to take his soul or brainwash him into loving her?

"Love acquired through brainwashing is not worth a dime, though admiration is another thing altogether. But that is not the message I wanted to tell you." She replied as though she could read his thoughts. She looked at her cat purring besides Kaito's legs with affection, her attention focused on the small sounds escaping from the feline. "Since Lucifer has taken a liking to you, he deems you worthy to know that you will soon fall victim to hardships and challenges, with the ability to steal your life. You can overcome these and avoid them to an extent but it depends on your luck. Seeing as you are beloved by Lady Luck herself, it would be correct to assume you would not come out too injured from these hardships."

"Can you give me specific incidences or are we playing the pronoun game?" There was no real reason not to believe her. "But I must warn you, I will not be paying with my mind or soul."

"Like I said, you humour and entertain me. That's why I gave the warning. However, this does not mean I am willing to tell you more without payment." Brushing her dress of the breadcrumbs, she stood and beckoned Lucifer to her. "I have things to attend to in the town, do try and stay off your injury unless you want to spend a few more days stuck in the house."

Another reason why Kaito haven't left yet was his leg was still injured. The brief bout of acrobatic somehow worsened the condition, setting back his healing. A sprain that normally takes a few days to heal is now compounded to needing at least a week of resting.

"Yea, yea. I know. I'll stay out of trouble." Kaito waved the sorceress goodbye before settling back into the couch. There were several books on the table by his side, though none held his interest (they were all detective novels loaned to him by Hakuba). Not knowing what else to do, he rummaged through his bag. Maybe it was time to perfect another magic trick for his next performance as KID.

-3 Weeks Later-

"Where is he?! Have you found him?" Gunter yelled at the henchmen kneeling before him inside the throne room. The man, named Snake, had arrived a fortnight ago, promptly answering his request. At least his sponsors are generous enough to lend him their men for the cause.

"We've searched the surrounding towns and none have news on the Prince."

"Humph. Useless, you're all useless!" Gunter nearly ripped open the curtains to reveal the mirror. He inserted the gem and waited patiently until it pulse. "Mirror mirror which I've mend, tell me where is the Prince of this land?"

"The Prince is located in the farthest woods from the castle, beyond the valley and near the borders of Beika. He rooms with several others inside the simple lodging deep in the woods to the East and is currently building up a repertoire of skills that would further make him the best magician of these lands." The last sentence were said with a proud voice before disappearing in a mist. Gunter was sure the mirror was mocking him as he turned back to Snake.

"Come with me!" He ordered, walking determinedly out of the throne room. He crossed several corridors, went down several flights of steps, and came to a stop in front of wooden doors at the basement where he claimed as his workroom. Opening the rickety wooden doors release a waft of sweetness that somehow drew Snake in. "Don't be hypnotised so easily Snake."

Gunter browsed through the shelves, opening several containers and boxes, before presenting Snake with a final undecorated box. He left the lid open to let Snake look inside. The box held a long piece of lacey ribbon with intricate weaving and detail worthy to be in a Royal Closet.

"Take this and use this on the Prince. He would immediately fall under the curse and never wake up." Gunter pushed the box into Snake's hands before booting him out of the castle.

In the house of the Seven Strange Inhabitants of The Woods (something which will continuously baffle Kaito as all of them work in the nearby town so why had they not stay inside the town but chose to live out here?), Kaito tried to fix his disguise for the day. After being stuck indoors for the whole week, his injury was finally healed enough for him to venture into town. He decided to disguise himself to prevent any spies from recognizing him too quickly. He borrowed a dress from the girls' closet and put makeup to soften his features. Still, something was missing.

Just as he was about to search the house for that something there came a knock on the door. Cautiously, he approached the locked door as he called to ask who was behind it.

"I am just a humble peddler with his goods for sale." Came the reply.

Curiously, Kaito opened the door a sliver to confirm the proclamation. The man on the other side was dressed in a worn and dusty cloak, with a large sack hanging off his shoulders.

"Could I maybe interest you in some of my wares?" The man opened the flap to his sack. "I just acquired some exquisite goods, a beautiful piece of lace that would make any dress shine."

Not seeing the danger, Kaito opened the door fully, revealing himself in a dress.

"My, don't you look lovely. This will certainly make you even more of a beauty no doubt." He searched through his bag and produced a wooden box. Opening the lid, he presented the lace to Kaito.

Kaito could see the lace ribbon was well made. It would complement the dress nicely when worn as a choker.

"Oh, why don't I help you to put this on?" He lifted the lace and motioned for Kaito to turn around.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I could afford this." Kaito had limited funds and he still has a long distance to travel.

"No harm in trying." The man's smile was way too creepy for Kaito's taste. He began to slowly back away, hoping to close the door. Seeing his actions, the man quickly added, "maybe I should leave you then. Though it does seem a shame I could not see this find a good home. Would you at least let me see you wear it?"

Kaito hesitated for a second. He debated internally whether to acquiesce to his request. Although the man in front of him looks like a creep, talks like a creep, and acts like a creep, it did not mean he was a creep. His father had taught him to always to not take things on the surface. Nodding, he allowed the man to loop the lace around his neck and began tying a knot from behind.

"And don't you look lovely." The man stepped back to admire his work. Suddenly, Kaito felt as though he couldn't breath, which was strange for the man had not purposefully strangle him. And the man is standing in front of his dimming vision. Cold eyes watched as Kaito tried to rip the lace off but it seemed unbreakable. Clawing at his neck while stuttering back indoors, he stumbled along towards the kitchen. Knocking over several chairs. He made grabby motion to find something sharp. But before his hands could close around the bread knife, he collapsed on the floor. The man had actually entered the house with Kaito and watched as he struggled. The last thing Kaito saw and heard before darkness claimed him were the look of satisfaction and the sound of an amused chuckle.

When the original inhabitants came home, they found the front door to be ajar. The Inspector was about to begin his angry ramble when Hakuba pointed out something was wrong. They all entered the kitchen to find Kaito laying in a heap on the floor.

"Why is he wearing a dress?" The Inspector asked, latching onto the first abnormality.

"Hey, Prince." Aoko carefully approached the fallen prince, shaking his shoulders. "Wake up."

"Something is not right." Hakuba crouched down, feeling for traces of a breath. "He's not breathing!"

Efficiently, they turned the prince over so that he would be laying on his back. Hakuba lifted his chin to begin CPR.

"Wait!" Akako warned. "Look at his neck."

Angry red marks adorned the pale slender neck, perpendicular to the lace choker.

"It looked as though he wanted to get this off."

"Keiko-san, knife." Hakuba pointed at the fallen knife. She handed him the implement and Hakuba began to cut away the lace. It was difficult, as though the lace had a mind of its own and refused to be cut.

When Hakuba managed to cut the last thread of the lace, Kaito's eyes popped open and he took large gulps of air.

"What happen Prince?" Hakuba patted his back.

"Peddler tried to kill me." Kaito admitted.

"You knew someone is trying to kill you and yet you were still careless." The Inspector shook his head. "Do you not know the meaning of self preservation?"

"Who comes to the middle of the forest to sell their goods?" Hakuba, ever the voice of reason, added.

"Were you hurt anywhere else?" Aoko fussed around, lifting sleeves and collar to check for further injuries.

"I'm fine. Just caught off guard." Kaito waved the girl away. "It won't happen again."

After Kaito's nightly performance, something in return for room and board instead of money, they each retired back to their own rooms with lighter hearts. Kaito stared out the living room windows, watching the moon rise and trying to put the afternoon's events behind him. Sleep had evaded him as each time he closed his eyes, he felt the coldness seeping through his skin. His doves cooed, some flocked over to where he sat. One in particular began grooming his hair.

"Are you guys worried as well?" A dove flew to his outstretched palm, gently pecking on the soft flesh. "Sorry girls."

With a wandering mind, Kaito smoothed the feathers of the dove on his palm. He would not have guessed Gunter would have found out his location.

"Then again, he does have a magic mirror." Glancing at the glowing moon, he was reminded of his father. "If 'tou-san were still here, none of this would have happened..." It was not as though he resented his father for falling prey to bandits, but he is bitter towards the situation. Maybe if he had not shown interest in Gunter all those years ago, it would not lead to this situation.

-1 Month Later-

"How?! Why?!" Gunter howled, flinging a wine glass into the direction of the two kneeling agents by the base of the platform inside the throne room. His mirror had just told him the Prince was still alive. "You imbecile! How could you fail?!"

"How was I supposed to know he could still survive after the curse? You told me all I had to do was have him wear the lace and I waited until he fell before coming back."

"Useless!" Gunter reached for the hidden drawer near the throne and took out a revolver. He aimed the weapon at Snake and fired continuously until bullets ran out. "Let's hope you can do better." He addressed the female now kneeling next to the dead henchman.

"I, Rose, will definitely accomplish the mission." Her head bowed in submission.

"Come. I have something to help the cause." Gunter led Rose to his workshop.

Once again, he searched around though this time he handed over a pouch. Opening the top revealed a wooden comb with clovers engraved as decorations.

"Use this." Tying the bag up, he deposited it into the outstretched hand. "Have him use it and he would undoubtedly not wake up from this."

Back in the forest, Kaito was trying to once again escape from the handcuffs that Hakuba and the Inspector had placed him in. They said it was for his own safety, so that he would stay indoors. Every single one of the occupants of the house, including the animals, had insisted he stay with them until they managed to find a solution to this problem. Kaito vehemently disagreed, which led to them all ganging up on him and use every trick there is to keep him indoors.

Several more twists of the wire and Kaito had finally freed himself. Today was one of those rare days when everyone had prior appointments and would not be back until late in the afternoon, a perfect chance for Kaito to leave. He whistled for his doves as he readied his bag when all of a sudden came a knock on the door. He ignored the sound but when a female voice called out asking for directions to town, apparently she lost her way in the forest, Kaito, being the gentlemanly prince that he was, opened the doors.

"Sorry to bother you." She said apologetically, feet shuffling on the front porch. "If you'll only direct me to the correct path, I should be fine."

Kaito looked at her and she was definitely not fine. Her shoes were too worn and Kaito could tell she could probably feel the ground beneath her feet, literally, and she looked as though she had not eaten a meal for a week. Her gaunt cheeks and pale complexion suggested she had been travelling for extended periods of time.

"Wait, you should come in." He offered. "I can get you something to eat."

"But I couldn't intrude..." The lady was reluctant, taking hesitant steps through the doorway.

Even though today is a rare chance for Kaito to escape, he could not leave a damsel in need. Grabbing a cup of warm tea and slices of cheese and bread, he motioned for her to sit down by the table and set the food in front of her.

"You should eat something before you go on your way." He took another cup of tea from the counter and sit beside the woman.

When all the food and drink was consumed, the woman fidgeted, picking at the hem of her sleeves.

"Is something the matter?" Kaito asked inquisitively.

"I'm not sure how I can repay you..." She glanced about before slowly taking a pouch from her pockets. "Maybe if you would have this then..."

Slowly, she took out a wooden comb from the pouch and placed it on her palms to give to Kaito. Kaito could see it was well made, with intricate carvings on the wooden handle.

"It's a family heirloom, and I really couldn't part with it. But I can't leave without repaying you..."

Kaito closed her fingers around the comb before pushing her hand back.

"It's something precious to you, I couldn't accept it." Kaito have her a knowing smile, "you should treasure this. I don't need any repayment."

"I couldn't..." She looked about as though determining whether there was something she could do around the house to pay back the favour. Her gaze settled on Kaito's bed of hair. "Perhaps, if you don't mind, I can comb your hair with this as payment? My mother told me that it was because she used this comb, that's why it brought her good fortune and managed to meet father. Perhaps if I could do the same for you, you can meet your good fortune and soul mate…?"

"Who am I to refuse then." Kaito chuckled and motioned her forward. "If that is what will please you then I wouldn't mind."

Slowly, she walked to stand behind Kaito. She first smoothed over the soft brown hair.

"It feels nice." She commented as she ran the comb tooth through the hair. "It looks really messy but in fact it's really soft."

Kaito laughed, this was the first time someone saying anything nice about his hair. Slowly, with the woman's touch, Kaito felt his eyes begin to droop. He struggled to stay awake even as she commented how there were many tangles in his hair.

"I'll have to be a bit rough, hope you don't mind." Her voice seems so far away even as Kaito nodded in consent. He could feel the comb stuck in his hair and he tried to reach up to tug it out but his hands were batted away by the woman, whom slowly took careful steps away from Kaito.

"Good night Prince, and have pleasant dreams for you will not wake from this." Her voice lost the innocent quality as darkness began claiming Kaito's consciousness. He wanted to lift his arms to reach up but they felt like lead. Instead, he let them fall beside him as he slumped over the table.

When the occupants returned, they were shocked once more when the door was left unlocked. Fearing the worst, they hurried into the living room to check into the Prince. Seeing neither he nor his doves were there, they next checked the kitchen to find the Prince had slumped over the table. Hakuba walked over with the Inspector, motioning for the girls to stay out in the hallway, in an attempt to heave him up onto their shoulders so that they could lay the Prince down in a more comfortable position before examining him. But they were disrupted when the doves began to flutter their wings from their perches and some flew to obstruct them.

"We're only trying to help." Hakuba waved the doves away but they persisted.

One dove in particular began pecking at Hakuba's hand, as though trying to remove it from its current position on the Prince's shoulders. Another decided to start scratching on his head. To the side, Hakuba could see the Inspector was also facing the same treatment, to a certain extent the doves seems to have put more effort in hindering the Inspector than Hakuba (he suspects it has something to do with how the Inspector always throws the newspaper at their perch early each morning before he rushed out the door).

"Shoo," Hakuba waved again before replacing the hand to heaved the Prince. The dove persisted and pecked harder this time, drawing small amounts of blood. In no time, Watson came flying through as though to discourage the doves. "Watson, get them away from the Prince for a while will you?"

Watson looked as though to comply, flew to disrupt the doves sitting on the Prince's back. But a few moments later, she too joined in with the doves and began pecking on Hakuba's hand, though with less force.

"Watson!" Hakuba was at least thankful that his hawk had the sense not to hurt him. He turned to see the Inspector had stepped back, nursing his now bruised and severely scratched hand. Keiko had the mind to fetch the first-aid kit and started bandaging the hand.

"I think they're trying to tell you something…" Aoko, who had been trying to stay out of the way, commented. "Maybe they noticed something, like last time?"

Nodding, Hakuba turned towards the avians. "Alright, you have my attention now. What is it?"

A white dove hopped over to stand on the Prince's head, feet clawing at the hair.

"Something in the head? Or did he bump his head?" The Inspector began to look for traces of a wound, brushing aside the hair to examine the scalp. He came across a wooden comb, and just as he was about to remove it, Akako cried for him to stop.

The Inspector looked wearily at the girl.

"Wait, allow me." The Scarlet Witch walked over to pick up the comb. It would not do for someone else to fall under such a simple spell. "This comb had been cursed." Carefully, she wrapped the wooden comb in black silk before tucking it back into her pockets, out of everyone's sight. It earned her a questioning gaze from Hakuba but she smiled charmingly, battered her long eyelash, to which Hakuba blushed and turned his eyes away to focus on the other things as a distraction, specifically the intricate patterns on the wooden table and floor and admired how the gradient changed in colour (in short, he was doing everything to hide the blush and his embarrassment).

"He never learns does he?" Hakuba commented after a cough to recover himself, he shook his head at the naivety of the Prince.

The moment the comb left Kaito's head, he jumped up and gasped, earning him strange stares by everyone present.

"What?" He was confused as he turned to look out the window, noticing night had already fallen. "Urg, not again."

"Yes again." Everyone echoed, nodding sagely.

Kaito moaned, feeling chagrin, as cradled his head in his hand.

"How did it happen this time?" Hakuba couldn't help but ask. He had heard the Prince was supposed to be smart, maybe it was time for him to reassess the Prince's character.

"Damsel in distress. Knocked on the door to ask for directions. Looked to be malnourished and ready to drop in a moment's notice." Kaito slumped back down into the chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I was trying to be kind and let her rest for a while, give her food and drink, before sending off on her way."

"Yet she still managed to put a curse on you? Even after we've warned you about letting strangers into the house." The Inspector, being the only adult present, scolded the young Prince. "You should know better than that."

"I wasn't exactly expecting a lost damsel to be an assassin." Kaito had no choice but admit that he was wrong. "She didn't have that killing aura about her."

"Not all killers do…" Hakuba added knowingly. He had seen too many killers without killing intent, most of the time they were hired hands or crime of passion.

"Right, there'll be no next time." Kaito stretched before standing up once more. "I'm guessing you're all hungry now?" He tries his best to dissipate the tense and worried atmosphere, directing their thoughts to food seems to help as stomachs collectively growled, including his own.

Quickly and efficiently, each occupant went about to help with setting up for dinner. The girls manned the stove as the boys went to fetch water and clean up the table. The doves and Watson flew back to their respective perches around the house but Lucifer stayed to make himself comfortable on the small patch of carpet near the kitchen doorway. The Inspector sat down at the table, reading the day's newspaper as he sipped on a cup of hot tea.

When Kaito returned with Hakuba and a pail of water, he couldn't help but notice the newspaper's headlines. The lack of anything interesting was quite disturbing. There were no mentions of the rise in taxes, which Kaito knew for sure that Gunter had enforced, nor were there news about him or his alter ego.

"I'm guessing there's still no announcement of my disappearance?" Kaito sat himself down next to the Inspector. Hakuba took the seat opposite. The girls had forbade the pair of boys from touching the stove when they were making food. The last time they tried earned them smacks on their hands with a wooden spoon (and Aoko's skills with the mop apparently extended to spoon handling, Kaito could still feel the phantom pain of the hit).

"Strange as it is, the Acting Regent doesn't seem to want anyone to know. Both about your attack and your disappearance." The Inspector flipped another page. "I've asked around, to see if there had been any rumours. The most circulated rumour lately is about that KID magician. It seems said magician had been active in this region."

"You wouldn't happen to be KID would you?" Hakuba asked. "Although there's nothing bad being said about the magician, it'll only be a matter of time before that Acting Regent has his eyes on the magician. Gunter von Goldberg the Second is known to be very vain about his skills."

"I've noticed. He never discusses any of his tricks in the castle, preferring to work alone in a dark basement." Kaito thanked Keiko for the food before tucking into the simple meal. The conversation was not picked up until all the food has been consumed.

"If you were KID," Hakuba nursed his own cup of after-meal tea. The girls have all retired back to their rooms, or in Akako's case back to the basement where Kaito assumes she would be busy conjuring up a spell of some sort. "It would be pure stupidity to court the attention of Goldberg seeing as he is already quite focused at trying to take you out of the picture. Unless of course, you have a higher reason, for example trying to stop him from claiming the throne?"

Kaito neither refute or confirm the suspicion, it was best to let the detective come to the conclusion. He did not want to involve other people unnecessarily. Last time he voiced his opinions about Gunter led to the demise of Corbeau and his mentor Monsieur Leblanc, he would not want a repeat of such incident.

"As it stands, since you are not declared as dead or missing, you are still eligible to the throne, though why does the Acting Regent keep you alive?" Hakuba mused out loud. "It makes no sense, if he truly wanted the kingdom, he would have killed both yourself and The Queen early on, why wait?"

Kaito bit onto his lower lips, as annoying as the blond detective is he really did not wish to involve him, no matter how skilled he could be.

"Maybe the time hasn't come yet." Kaito shrugged, acting as nonchalant as he could without raising too much suspicion. "He could be just biding his time. After all, there are still quite a few advisors who are loyal to Us."

"Or he could be waiting for another party to join in…" Hakuba mused, noting the flinch from Kaito. "I'm correct am I not? You suspect something."

"I will confirm to nothing. You stick with your cases here and let me deal with things involved in the Capital." Kaito stood up abruptly, knowing the longer he stayed in the kitchen, the more Hakuba would interrogate him.

-1 Month Later-

"This is absurd!" Gunter yelled, throwing the full pitcher of water at hand at the wall next to the mirror. The glass pitcher shattered into pieces and rained down on the floor as water dribbled down slowly. "How can this be!"

What made things worst was Rose had immediately left after reporting to Gunter that the Prince had been taken cared of. Gunter wonders if it would be worth the effort to chase after Rose to show his displeasure at her work attitude.

"I only speak the truth, and the truth is Prince Kaito, also known as KID the magician, is still alive and performing. KID is still hailed as the best magician in these lands." The mirror in the mask seemed pleased with itself. Its smugness seeped through in the voice even as the mask showed nothing but a blank emotion.

"It seems I will have to take matters into my own hands." Gunter ripped the gem from its socket before stomping angrily out of the throne room. On the way down towards his workroom, none of the guards dared to approach, all trying their best to blend into the shadows as the Acting Regent passed their positions.

Forcefully, he slammed open the wooden doors, rattling the frames in process, and went about to set up his workbench. He took various containers from the shelves before setting up the small cauldron to the side over a stove. Pouring in the many ingredients, the once translucent liquid turned a sickly brown colour before simmering back into a bright red. He took the cauldron off the stove and waited for it to cool slightly before dipping the apple he grabbed from the bowl on the workbench. He was careful to only submerge the left half of the fruit, leaving the right half untouched. After a minute, Gunter took the apple back out and carefully examined his work. The apple still looked the same, though the colouring on the left side seems slightly brighter, more plump and succulent than the right half. Satisfied with his work, he placed the apple in a linen laid basket filled with other fruits, though most looked past its best. The red apple stood out on top, along with a few green apples.

Next, Gunter rummaged the small trunk he kept inside the workroom. He pulled out various garments, some extravagant, others well worn, though the one he was looking for laid at the bottom-most of the trunk. A tattered grey shawl, an off-white apron, a greying wig of long hair, and a murky brown dress. He carefully arranged himself with the garments and by the end of the hour, he looked more like an old grandmother out for a walk instead of the dignified Regent that he associates himself to be. Picking up the basket, he walked towards the back entrance, paying care to keep to the shadows.

Out in the forest, Kaito hummed as he went about tending to the small patch of flowers and herbs to the side of the house. He would have left already if Akako had not placed an enchanted shackle to his ankle (it was a result from nearly being stabbed out in town during his return from his KID performance, he would have evaded but it would meant the child standing behind him would be hurt. Kaito had no choice but to block the knife, which made a small nick on his forearm, but he was seen by Aoko at the time, who dragged him back to the house and began to admonish him). He had tried to look for the keyhole to pick is way out but apparently, as it was magical, it lacks said locking device. Having no other choice but to stay (and finally he had his own room in the form of an attic in the house) he decided to entertain himself.

"Hello?" A voice crooned from beyond the fence, opposite to where Kaito was working. "Is there anybody home?"

Having no choice, seeing as the old woman was standing in front of him, separated by the fence, he dusted himself and stood up to greet her.

"Hello there good lady. How can I help you?" Kaito extended his hand to offer a small daisy plucked from the nearby patch of grass.

"Oh my, you sound young." The old lady's hands reached out with a bit of a shake. "My eyes aren't so good so I was wondering if I'm near the town."

"You are a long way off the road good lady." Kaito took hold of her hand and placed the flower into the grasp. "However, if you'll just follow the flat road, you should come to the edge of the forest. There, you only have to walk a short distance and you should reach the town's gates."

"You are so kind young man." The woman tucked the flower behind her ear before patting genially onto the back of Kaito's hand. "Would you like to share a meal with me?"

"I'm afraid I don't…" Kaito started to decline the offer. Really, what is it with strange woman trying to pick him up.

"Nonsense, you sound hungry yourself." The old woman reached into the basket to produce a plump apple. Next, she found her hands around a knife and sliced the apple into halves, offering the bright red fruit to Kaito. "Here, have this. A young man like yourself needed all the food he can get to grow up to be strong."

Even as Kaito tried to decline, the woman kept pushing for Kaito to take the fruit. In the end, Kaito had no choice but to concede. The apple smelled fragrant up close and Kaito could feel his saliva pooling in his mouth. He watched as the woman took a bite out of her own half before taking his own bite.

"This is really sweet…" And no sooner had the words left his mouth, Kaito felt all manner of strength left him. He crumpled on the grass, eyes rolling back before shutting itself from the world. The apple fell to the floor and started to rot.

The old woman picked up the fruit and tucked it back into the basket. Next she took the flower from behind her ear and threw it towards the Prince. As she left with a smirk, the daisy floated down and rested onto the stilled chest of the Prince.

Late in the afternoon, when the residents returned from the daily trips to Town, they all noticed a sense of dread surrounding the forest. Aoko, who had been walking in front, screamed when she walked passed the fence. They all gathered around the fallen prince, animals and humans alike, to begin looking for anomalies. Keiko checked the neck, arms and legs for injuries or bindings as Watson and Lucifer sniffed about the head for strange accessories. In the end, they shook their heads and realised there was nothing on the Prince.

"We couldn't just bury him!" Aoko shouted when Hakuba suggested the Prince was determined to be dead. "It's just not right!"

"Aoko-san, he should be laid to rest…"

"Yes, but not in the ground. And he is royalty so we need to allow people to come and pay their respect to him!"

"Aoko-san, he'll rot like this." Hakuba had not wanted to sound so crude but this was a fact. Keiko and Aoko cringed at the mention of a rotting corpse. "And no one knows about the Prince being here."

"Still…" Aoko looked hopefully at her father, who shrugged.

"Hakuba-kun is right. However, Aoko, you do make a point." The Inspector kept a neutral face, trying not to be too focused on the figure of the Prince, now lain on the floor of the house. They moved the Prince indoors to make a more thorough check of the Prince's condition before declaring him to be gone for good.

"Might I offer a suggestion." Akako's hand rose elegantly to draw everyone's attention. "If you will just follow me."

She took them back towards the greenhouse, entered the structure, and came to a stop in front of a large glass case that was currently filled with water from the water system they have set up.

"I can enchant this to preserve the Prince in his current state. People, those who know about it, can come and pay their respect." Akako offered a compromise to the problem. They all nodded in agreement, deciding this would be for the best. And should they ever managed to find The Queen to tell her of the news, at least she can see her son for one last time instead of only seeing his tombstone.

The enchantment did its work, preserving the beauty of the Prince in his glory. The greenhouse was converted into a memorial of sort, all the occupants tending to the flowers surrounding the glass coffin. They kept a single pane of window open to allow the doves to fly in and out of the greenhouse, though none seems to want to leave their master's side. Aoko and Keiko went to the greenhouse religiously, making sure the doves were fed and watered, tended to the plants, and dusted the coffin to keep it clean.

Every time Aoko lays eyes on the resting Prince, her eyes would tear up as memories of mop chases and night-time performances creep up on her. For the first few days, she sobbed and kept close to the greenhouse, barely leaving the place. Eventually, Hakuba and her father had managed to coax her away from the glass coffin.

For Akako, the Prince's fall was a dark spot for her. She had a suspicion that it was the work of a curse, that the Prince was not truly dead for Lucifer had told her that Lady Luck would not allow for her supposed-son to die so easily. But she, for the life of her, could not figure out how it was done or how to reverse this curse. She even had examined the comb for clues but there were none. This was also the reason why she had suggested to keep the Prince here, to allow her the opportunity to figure this out.

The two males of the house went about their daily business with fervour, hoping to put this nasty business behind them. They had no clues to work on, with the exception that it must be the actions from the Acting Regent. Yet, there was nothing they could do about it. Frustration began to build up and the old Inspector began to become irritated, Hakuba took up some of the more riskier cases in hopes of finding a link between those and the death of the Prince.

Days turned to weeks, and soon, it was past the one month mark. Each day past by with much sadness as the occupants mourned for the lost of a somewhat eccentric Prince. They had, however, managed to coax one of the doves to take a letter to the Queen, hopefully it would reach its destination. So far, there was still no reply. However, they always continue to hope that they could either find a breakthrough in the case or the Queen would come to see his son.

-Several Months Later-

The forest seemed to sing on a particular sunny afternoon, though the rapid staccato of a horse's hooves had disturbed the peace. A black stallion, with its majestic rider, rode through the trees with much haste as it follows a white speck just beyond the foliage.

"Hurry up boy. That bird's got the necklace. 'Kaa-san would kill me if she knew I didn't bring her back a gift." The rider urged his horse on, who seemed to understand every word said and quickened its pace.

Far behind them, there were shouts for him to "Slow down", "It's dangerous" alongside curses and "Are you an idiot?!". The rider had ignored all the complaints as he readjusted his balance when his horse jumped over a fallen log. He held onto the leather straps as tight as he could, bending forward to allow his horse to gain just that little bit more speed. Glancing upwards, he could see the white speck becoming clearer, more defined.

"Who on earth trained you guys…" He muttered, barely avoiding the overhead branch aiming to decapitate him.

Once the trees cleared, the bird headed towards a small bright structure in the distance. Not needing to care about further obstructions, the horse galloped forward in the same direction without the need for its rider's prompt. He immediately dismounted before they reached the fence, jogging the rest of the way in the same direction of the slowing speck of white. His sword clanked against his hips as he jumped across the fence to see the bird hovering in the distance.

He noticed the structure the bird was hovering over to be a greenhouse, on the property of a large, well-kept house. Though it seemed strange for someone to live so far into the center of the forest. The property was well kept, grass cut low, and off to the side he saw a small bed of vegetables and flowers. Glancing up towards the greenhouse's roof, he saw the bird, 'dove' he corrected himself mentally, hop inside. Circling around, he found the door, unlocked, and pushed inwards. He was bombarded with the sweet smells of flowers and a myriad of colours.

"It's as though I've stepped into paradise…" He whispered softly into the air. Carefully, he followed the path towards the center of the greenhouse. There, he saw a glass coffin, which inside laid a person with a near-splitting image of himself. "Who are you?" His hands extended downwards, cupping the side of the face that was still supple to the touch. The warm temperature inside the room had kept the person from going cold, but he knew instinctively that this person was not exactly alive. He let his eyes wander on the face, noting the long eyelashes and the shapely lips. For a moment, he wondered what the person's eyes would be like, were they green like the grass outside, or bright red like the rose bushes surrounding them, or even the pale blue of the clear sky. For once, he longed for something other than the thrill of a chase or the satisfaction of a solved mystery.

The stranger was brought out of his mental wandering with a gust of cold air. The door behind him had opened, followed by a loud clash.

"Who are you?" The brunette girl asked, shifting towards the rake set to the side of the entrance.

"Please, I mean no harm." He held up his hands. "I was following a dove, who took a necklace from my posession, and I ended up here. My name is Kudo Shinichi, I'm a Prince from Beika."

"What is a Prince from Beika doing so far away?" Suspiciously, the girl reached for the rake, wrapping his hands around it and brandishing it in front of her like a weapon. Shinichi was not worried, at least not much.

"I was travelling with my companions to our neighbours." He backed up to give them some more space. His back soon hit the edge of the glass coffin, to which he spared another glance at the seemingly sleeping figure. "Who's this person? A family member?"

The girl shook her head with sadness prominent in her eyes. Lowering the rake, she walked up to the coffin and reached out to brush away the strands of brown hair.

"He's Prince Kaito of the Clover Kingdom, just west of here." She whispered as though the words were sacred. A dove, the same dove that still had the necklace in its beak, landed on coffin's edge. "Is that yours?"

Shinichi reached out with opened palms as though to order the dove to hand the necklace over. The dove obeyed, hopping along the edges until it reached the hand and climbed up before depositing the necklace onto opened palms. However, the dove had not immediately left, it stared up at Shinichi with its beady eyes.

"I think it wanted me to be here…" Tenderly, Shinichi stroke the feathers of the dove, who cooed softly in response. There was then a rustling of noise from the surrounding greenery as beady eyes and white bodies came from behind the foliage. They slowly gathered around Shinichi, some flew and landed on his shoulders, whilst many decided to perch on the coffin and the ground. The girl giggled.

"This is the most excited from them ever since Prince Kaito…" She reached out to touch the dove but suddenly withdrew her hand. "They never acted like this before."

"Maybe it's because I look like the Prince?" He gently cupped the dove in both his hands, raising it to eye level. "They're probably just lonely without their Master."

"Could be…" The girl trailed off until she suddenly jolted and exclaimed. "Where are Aoko's manners?!" She then turned to fully face Shinichi to perform a small curtsy and bowed to waist level as a sign of respect. "Nakamori Aoko, if Prince Shinichi could follow Aoko to the house, we would be honoured to have you."

"Really, I shouldn't intrude." He placed the dove back next to its original owner, his hands lingered to touch the sleeping prince's face, brush away specks of invisible dust with his thumb. "He shouldn't be left here like this…"

"But it would be wrong to bury him." Aoko admitted, hand stilled on the handle of the door to the greenhouse. "And we have yet to find the Queen, it would be wrong to not let the Queen to have the last sight of her son."

Shinichi's eyes lingered on the ethereal view, not wanting to part with it so soon. He had felt a pull in his chest when he stepped away, it felt as though he shouldn't leave the prince alone in this greenhouse.

"Prince Shinichi?" Aoko prompted, to which Shinichi finally tore himself away from the glass coffin.

"Then I suppose I should take you up on the offer." With one last look, Shinichi closed the glass doors and walked behind the brunette at a sedate pace. "I'm just wondering, how long ago was it when Prince Kaito…" Shinichi decided to let it trail off, seeing as it had pained the girl to even talk about it before.

"Around two months, closer to three now." She guided them down the cobblestone path towards the house's back entrance.

"And yet, he remains as though he was just asleep, bound to wake up any time." Muttering thanks to the girl as they entered. He was quickly directed to the living room and was told to make himself comfortable.

Aoko smiled somewhat painfully. "That's because of Akako-chan, she's the one who placed the enchantment on the...coffin...to keep the Prince looking like that." The pained expression never left her face as she stepped out of the living room and towards the kitchen.

As Shinichi waited for his host to return, he surveyed the room. It felt homey and warm, with various trinkets littered everywhere. Though what drew Shinichi's eyes was the worn saddle bag sitting by the corner, somewhat out of place and yet still feeling part of the room's decor. As though drawn in by the mysterious bag, Shinichi walked to inspect it with his eyes.

"Is something the matter?" The voice that called out was different from Aoko, it had more of a dulcet tone. The word to describe the owner of the voice would be 'seductive'. "Aoko asked me to keep you entertained Prince Shinichi. You can call me Akako." She sauntered over to where he was standing, coming to a stop by his side with shoulders touching.

"Nice to meet you." Shinichi edged away for propriety's sake. For some inexplicable reason, Shinichi felt as though he should not be near this person for extended amounts of time, and should not, under any circumstances, accept her words on face value alone. "This bag…?" He motioned towards the bag leaning on the wall, hoping to re-divert her attention away from him.

"That belongs to Prince Kaito, I believe you saw him just now?" She edged even closer, forcing Shinichi to back into the corner. Looking frantically for an escape, Shinichi was relieved when Aoko walked in with a tray of tea and biscuit.

"Akako-chan, aren't you being a bit...close?" Aoko asked out of pure curiosity.

"Not at all, Prince Shinichi is being quite the gentleman you know." She finally backed off and walked towards the couches. "I guess all princes are like that, a gentleman?"

"That Prince Kaito was not exactly a gentleman. He flipped Aoko's dress more times than Aoko could count." Huffing in irritation, and with slight nostalgia, she placed a cup and saucer in front of an armchair before motioning for Shinichi to join them.

"If I remember correctly, you managed to hit him with your broom the same number of times as well." Akako smiled wryly.

Shinichi watched with a sense of longing at the banter between the two girls. It feels so normal to be here, sitting in the armchair, sipping on tea (though he much preferred coffee but he did not want to disrespect his hosts), and listen into stories of mischief. Aoko was very vocal about her thoughts on Prince Kaito, though her voice held some sense of admiration instead of pure irritation. On the other hand, Akako sounded too apathetic about the whole situation.

"Are you two the only people living inside this house?" Shinichi could not help but ask. The house seems too big for just the two of them.

"Oh no, Aoko's father, Hakuba-kun and Keiko lives here with us as well. Alongside our pets that is." Aoko motioned towards the cat sitting close to the fireplace, which Shinichi had somehow managed to miss upon entering the room. The cat gave him a cursory glance before laying its head back down to sleep.

"By Hakuba, do you mean Hakuba Saguru?" Shinichi bristled slightly at the cat's attitude. "Recently his name has spread into Beika, replacing the rumours of KID."

"Are you KID's fan?" Akako gently laid her cup on the coffee table, arms resting on her knees. She had an extremely interested look in her eyes.

"I've only passed by one of his performance, a long time ago it seems. I had been traveling for quite some time you see." He motioned at his well worn clothes. "Had to make sure our borders are secure and all that. But that one time, his performance underneath the clock tower, it was...mesmerizing and entertaining I guess." He scratched his cheeks with embarrassment. "I had always wanted to see if we can cross paths again, perhaps find out his real name if I have the chance. Though from the looks of recent development, KID seems to have disappeared once more."

"Once more?" Aoko asked, not really understanding.

"Yes, there was a KID that appeared a long time ago. Though that KID is more of a thief, stealing from the rich and gifting the poor. Not that this KID didn't follow his predecessor's code of conduct. I've heard the new KID had made many donations towards charities, orphanages, and churches all around."

"You're quite knowledgeable about KID, Prince Shinichi." The twinkle in Akako's eyes were unnerving for Shinichi. "It sounds as though you spent an extensive amount of time researching the topic."

"We do have a large library in Beika." Just as he thought about what he could tell to the people in front of him (he was not going to admit to finding the newest KID to be an interesting topic and enthralling mystery waiting to be solved), they were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Sighing in relief, he settled back into the cushions to take a sip of his drink. Akako looked pleasantly amused by his response.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but we saw a horse of our companion's resting just outside of your property. I was wondering if you have seen anyone new around." Shinichi recognised the female voice drifting into the living room. Not wanting to intrude on his hosts further, he stood to walk towards the front door.

"Ran." He addressed from behind Aoko. Shinichi was both relieved and terrified of his childhood friend-slash-caretaker (as assigned by his parents. He could take care of himself thank-you-very-much and does not need someone to continually monitor and nag him. Although being constantly drawn into trouble and crime must have put some worrying thoughts into his parents' mind which was why they insisted Ran to accompany him on these journeys).

"Shinichi! Thank goodness, we thought something had happened to you!" Ran walked passed Aoko to stand in front of Shinichi, giving him a thorough scan for any possible injuries.

"Hey Kudo, no runnin' off next time. Ya scared Nee-chan to having a heart attack when ya took off without warnin'." Hattori, the dark-skinned, loud and extremely caring (even if it was well hidden) knight-slash-bodyguard-slash-part-time detective stepped through the doorway as well. Aoko promptly shut the front door to bar anyone else from barging in.

"Hey Hattori, didn't see you there."

"Don't ya 'hey' me. D'ya know how much trouble it was to travel through the forest with a wagon?" Hattori poked into Shinichi's shoulder jokingly.

"Sorry, sorry." Even though he was apologising, he did not sound sorry for his action. "I had to get that necklace back or 'kaa-san would be annoyed, and none of us would want that now, would we?" Shinichi's statement elicited shudders from his two companions. No one wanted to deal with an overly emotional (annoyed, angered, excited, any extreme emotion actually) Kudo Yukiko as that often spells disaster. "Unless, of course you're willing to put up with her Hattori."

"No, I think ya made the correct decision to chase after the bird." Hattori agreed even as Ran ribbed him with her elbow. "Ow Nee-chan, ya know yer strong don't ya?"

"Stop encouraging him Hattori, or I'll tell Kazuha back home about the time in the tavern." Ran hissed in warning.

Aoko looked out of her element and Shinichi had quickly picked up on the awkwardness. "Allow me to introduce. This is Mouri Ran, my childhood friend, next to her is Hattori Heiji, the knight of Beika."

The two bowed when their names were mentioned.

"Pardon our intrusion." Ran spoke up before tugging onto Shinichi to force him to leave. "We should be taking our leave now."

"Well, it's actually getting late and travelling through the forest would be dangerous." Aoko looked at the clock then nodded to herself. "It would be safer if you people camped out on our property instead of trying to go through the forest before nightfall. Aoko is sure 'tou-san would not mind."

"If it's not too much trouble, we'll take ya up on the offer." Hattori replied before Ran could cut in. She gave him a cold, hard stare. "Com'on Nee-chan, would ya really wanna trudge through the forest now? We don't know if there'll be bandits or not. I don't think we should risk Kudo's life 'ere."

"I guess…" Ran admitted before turning back to Aoko. "Are you sure it'll be ok?"

"Actually, there won't be room inside the house, though we could probably put up with the three of you. The rest will have to camp out in the gardens. It should be safer than camping in the forest."

"There's really on us three, the wagon was mostly for camouflage." Shinichi explained. "On the outside, we're travelling performers so the wagon mainly holds our props."

"Why would you travel undercover?" Aoko directed all of them back towards the living room, where Akako now sits with the cat on her lap and an amused, but knowing, smile on her face.

"It'll be dangerous for the people to know Shinichi is a prince. There's been too much activity going around the area lately and none of us wanted to risk it."

After another round of introduction, Aoko took them up to the attic area where it had been cleared out beforehand to serve as a bedroom.

"Ran-san could stay with Aoko." She suggested. "Which leaves this room available for Prince Shinichi and Hattori-san."

That night, once the rest of the house's occupants arrive, the house became full of activity. The girls, including Ran, had taken over the kitchen and kicked everyone else out. Hakuba seems to be obsessed with Shinichi for he had heard many stories about how the Prince had solved the said-to-be-unsolvable mysteries. Though the blond was also quite irritated by Hattori's presence.

"We go back a long time." Hakuba replied when asked. "That Hattori nearly messed up a crime scene just because he thought he could save the man."

"Hey! I'm not about'ta let someone die if I could help it!" Hattori rebutted. The Inspector and Shinichi both sighed in desperation. The two had been arguing every ten minutes since they laid eyes on one another and it was becoming tedious.

"So Prince Shinichi, have you found anything interesting on the road? Rumours, news from Beika or Ekoda capital?"

"You're hinting to news about Prince Kaito." It was more of a statement than a question. Shinichi had to do some deep thinking to come to the conclusion why the elder Nakamori wanted to know. "You suspect whatever had happened to Prince Kaito is a conspiracy, or a coverup."

"It's not the first time he's fallen under something nasty." He began to recount the last two times they found the prince unconscious. "He admitted to being targeted by the Acting Regent of his kingdom."

"No wonder…" Slowly, ideas were beginning to form in Shinichi's mind. He managed to link up several events, from both Beika and Ekoda, all coinciding to when Prince Kaito was supposedly attacked by bandits and became missing.

By now, Shinichi had managed to recapture Hattori's and Hakuba's attention. Hattori raised an eyebrow to urge Shinichi to explain.

"We, that is my father and I, have been suspecting of some espionage by the Northern Kingdom. Though we would have never thought the person to have so much control over a single kingdom and had managed to nearly dethrone the current monarchy."

"Yer sup'osed to tell people those types o'things!" Hattori yelled. "Is that why you volunteered to go look at the borders?"

"Partly yes." Shinichi nodded gravely, "I wanted to see how bad things have become. We've managed to identify most of the spies from Beika but with Ekoda being so close to us, it'll be illogical to execute our plans without knowing how much support they have in Ekoda." He then turned back towards the elder male. "I have a request, would it be ok if we took the Prince back with us to Beika?"

"What?!" All the other occupants, including the girls who just entered to inform them dinner was ready, exclaimed the moment they heard the request.

"Why would ya want to do that?" Hattori was the first to recover from the shock.

"You remember about a year or so ago, when my Mother suddenly disappeared for about a week, then my Father had to go and pick her up?" Shinichi reminded, though by the looks on his companion's face, neither remembered the incident. "Anyways, my Mother had been contacted to provide assistance, which turns out to be providing a place for habitation."

"Don't tell me…" Hakuba was quick to catch on. "There were different rumours surrounding the Ekoda Queen, one was that she had been recuperating in a summer villa, another was she had been travelling with a loyal companion across the lands."

Shinichi nodded. "They were good friends and my parents set them up at one of the lesser known manors just inside the capital. No one knows about it since it used to be the ancestral home of one of our family's distant relative."

"So Beika has the Queen under their care. It would seem logical to have the Prince back to where his Queen Mother is." Hakuba looked towards elder man for confirmation. He looked grim but nodded.

"Aoko wouldn't be happy about this you know. She's quite attached to Prince Kaito." He rose from his seat, probably intending to talk with his daughter.

"That's one matter sorted at least." Hattori sighed, leaning back further into his seat. "Ya said this was only one of the reason, what's the other?"

"That's…" Shinichi stuttered, scratching his cheeks in embarrassment. "The objective has been met. It's not really relevant anymore."

"Sure…"Hattori did not sound like he believed the words, "just as the meanin' behind bein' a travellin' performance troupe is no longer relevant. What with ya declarin' yerself to strangers, it really voids the meanin' of travellin' undercover."

"Can you just drop it. It's really no big deal." Shinichi stared deep into the fire.

Truth to be told, the other reason for wanting to travel was quite personal. Many years ago, he snuck out of the castle with Agasa and Ran then travelled across the land just because he heard about the magnificence in the Ekoda festivals (both his parents were shocked to hear when Shinichi left the castle as he had not told anyone of his travel plans, and had actually started a search party as they thought someone had kidnapped him). He had met someone then. Though it was more of him seeing someone interesting but never having the chance to talk as he had been a performer at the time. Ran had reamed his head off for the whole duration of their trip and the subsequent performance. It took months of practice and planning to form the small puppet sketch but in the end, it paid off. His audience loved it and he managed to capture the interest of a young aristocrat, at least he thinks it was an aristocrat as he had been sitting in the box seats. Those shining eyes that looked back as he walked off the stage were captivating and he had never been able to get it out of his mind. Now that he thinks about it, the features he remembered from the boy were similar to that of what he saw on Prince Kaito's, which may be the reason why he seemed to be drawn towards him.

"Oh-ho?" Hattori had this conspiratory eye, wagging as though he was scheming something devious. "A personal reason then?" He leaned over to poke at Shinichi. "Yer avoidin' the question."

"Isn't it time we get to bed or something? We'll have a long day of travelling before us." Shinichi stood abruptly to turn towards the stairs. Hattori followed diligently behind, though not without sumptuous amounts of teasing and prodding for Shinichi to divulge his other reasons.

Shinichi had pretended to be asleep, curling up in the small bed away from Hattori's gaze, unable to actually fall into a state of unconsciousness ever since he fell onto the bed. He was restless, at the same time he felt tired. Not wanting to disrupt Hattori's sleep in the small cot on the opposite side of his bed (by the sound of the snore, the knight was in deep sleep), Shinichi tiptoed out of the room in the attic. The house was silent, though expected since the moon had already risen to high in the sky, therefore to not cause a disturbance to their hosts, he opted to stroll in the garden.

His legs quickly took him to the greenhouse, where he entered quietly as though not wanting to disturb the current, and only, inhabitant. Several doves blinked open their eyes, one flew to rest on his shoulders, but otherwise they fell back to their sleep. Walking forwards towards the low dias set in the middle of the greenhouse, Shinichi's gaze once again fell upon the ethereal looking prince.

"I wonder…" He mused out loud, unconsciously brushing onto the dove's belly feathers with his hand, "are you the one I saw all those years ago…" He reached out to brush away the bangs of soft brown hair as gently as he could. "If only you'll open your eyes."

He sighed, knowing that no amount of talking could wake the Prince up. Though he does find it soothing to be able to talk to the not-responding prince. Bending close to Prince Kaito's head, Shinichi decided to try something out of an old book he read.

"The books say," he whispered softly as their noses touch, "a prince's kiss is all it takes to wake up the sleeping princess. You might not be a princess, but you are royalty. I do hope you haven't claimed a true love yet, as the books also mentions curses can only be broken by true love's kiss."

He let his own lips touched the other prince's, feeling them to be still warm and plump, not like that of a dead person. Shinichi was pleasantly surprised and decided to deepen the kiss. However, there was no response. Standing back up to full height, he looked longingly at the closed eyes.

"I guess it's not like the stories." His voice was filled with a hint of sadness. The dove on his shoulder cooed as it rubbed itself on Shinichi's cheeks. Shinichi responded by brushing his fingers against the bird's chest. "I'm sorry girl, I guess I'm just not good enough."

He let his hand returned to that same position by the prince's cheeks, fingers splayed and touching various parts of the face and neck. For a split second, he thought he felt a thump of heartbeat but there were no outward reactions.

Several other doves joined him as he sat down on the steps beside the glass coffin, not wanting to walk away just yet. Shinichi leaned back as he gaze upwards towards the roof and into the midnight sky. The doves crowded around Shinichi's legs, taking perch on his knee and the surrounding steps.

"You all miss your master don't you. I wished I could do more." He mused out loud, taking note of the different constellation in the sky. Sitting here really did feel like those scenes from the books, where two soulmates were able to indulge in a romantic night of stargazing. He shook his head, trying to clear away the thought before looking back at the twinkling lights once more. He wondered what the other prince would say if he were sitting next to him, would they become friends? Would they be able to make up constellations among the stars and laugh at the obnoxious names? Or would they just bask in each other's presence underneath the silence?

He spent the better part of the night sitting with only the sleeping birds as company, somehow feeling strangely content and safe around the other prince. When dawn started to break, he returned back towards the house and went back to the shared room.

"Yer early." Hattori yawned as he greeted a good morning. Shinichi shrugged as he gathered their belongings, not wanting to elaborate or give the knight a cause for worry. There were a few times the knight became overly protective though it was expected seeing as Shinichi was often involved in a crime of some kind every time he left the castle. The other times when the knight was not protective, Hattori was the cause of worry due to his sheer stubbornness to protect Shinichi.

"We should pack up the wagon a bit, to make some space." Shinichi did not wait for Hattori and instead went ahead. He heard a sigh and a series of mutterings followed by sluggish footsteps.

By the time they made the required space on the wooden wagon, Ran was calling for them to join in for breakfast. Aoko looked as though she cried the whole night, with her eyes puffy and red. Shinichi felt a small guilt building up in his chest the girl must have detected the change in his mood.

"I'm not saying you should leave Prince Kaito here." She stared straight into Shinichi. "I'll just miss him, even though he only stayed with us for a short time..."

"Thank you." He replied with as much gratitude as he could muster.

"I'll go make sure my spells are in place." Akako stood and Shinichi followed, wanting to know whether there were special precautions he should take for the safe transportation. "Not much, I just have to adjust my spells so that time would not affect Prince Kaito as long as the lid of the glass coffin stays on."

"But here..." Shinichi looked at the open coffin and then the greenhouse.

"I placed a spell all over this place. Though that being said, even if you opened the lid, the time surrounding Prince Kaito would not move much. He would still be preserved as he is currently, but I don't suggest you leave it opened for an extended amount of time. An hour is the most you'll be able to manage without my spells surrounding the place. Then time will continue to flow within Prince Kaito and we wouldn't want that now would we?" She had a knowing look on her face, as though she was able to read Shinichi's mind and his strange attachment to Prince Kaito.

Carefully, he lifted the lid into place with the help of Hattori. Together, they carried the glass coffin into the waiting wagon outside, secured it, and placed a velvet cloth on top to prevent dust, debris, or other mishaps from toppled props.

"If I travel to Beika," Aoko wringed her hands in front of the gate. Hakuba and Keiko stood next to her, giving silent support. The blond detective actually drew her closer towards his body and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "If I come, can I visit him?" She looked at the wagon, which Hattori had just climbed on. Next to the wagon was Ran standing next her horse. Shinichi's black stallion stood majestically by the side, its black mane shining under the morning sun. Many of the doves made their perch inside the wagon, though one stayed on Shinichi's shoulders. Hattori complained about the birds and feathers but otherwise made no outward motion to dissuade the doves.

"Here, take out your hand." Shinichi stretched out his closed palm over Aoko's hand. He dropped a black onyx coin with an engraving of a bird in flight in front of a shining star. "Show this to the guards in the castle when you do come by, they'll notify me right away and I'll bring you to him."

Hakuba gasped when he saw the coin.

"Prince Shinichi, are you sure you could give something like that away?" His voice was shaking ever so slightly in disbelief.

Aoko looked confused and urged Hakuba to explain.

"That's a royal sigil. Given to those who you owe a life debt to." He looked up with wide eyes. It was his first time seeing one out in the open.

Aoko immediately pushed her hands back towards Shinichi after realizing the implication.

"I can't accept this." She then began to ramble out a series of reasons why it would be bad to give something like this to her, how he should treasure such artefacts and not give them out on a whim.

Shinichi chuckled softly behind his fist, admiring at the girl's straightforwardness and honesty.

"It's fine. In a way you did save my life. If the dove actually took off with the necklace, I'm not sure if I can survive my Mother's wrath." He shuddered to think what his mother could do. In some ways, his mother could exact revenge where it would just be easier to put an end to life instead of suffering through the humiliation and embarrassment.

"But… But..." Aoko stuttered, still insisting Shinichi to take back the coin.

Ran came around and thumped Shinichi on the back of his head. "Idiot." She admonished before turning back to accept the coin and placed it back into Shinichi's hand.

"Ran, is that the way to treat your country's prince?" He rubbed the sore spot, messing up his tame hair into a style that is not dissimilar to Prince Kaito's.

"Can't you see your causing her stress?" She flicked Shinichi in the forehead. "Sorry about him Aoko-san, Shinichi can be quite dense about these things. Just ask for me at the guard house in Beika castle, I'll come to get you. Or you could try Hattori's name. Either is fine. The guards are actually quite nice so you won't have to worry." She flashed a comforting smile before pulling Shinichi by the ear to lead him back towards his own horse.

They bid their goodbyes then left the premise, entering back into the surrounding dense forest. All the while, Ran and Shinichi bickered with Hattori laughing.

("Ow Ran, was it really necessary to hit me?"

"You idiot, you know you weren't supposed to give out something like that so easily."

"I'm the prince, there's nothing to stop me."

"Normally I'd say yes but you know it's important you keep it on you."

"But she deserves it."

"You try explaining that to your father.")

The road, while it was an easy ride on the horse, was not so for the wagon. There were many bumps and tree trunks obstructing their path. At one point, the wagon made a jump through a ditch, but in order to arrive back at the castle on time they did not stop and pushed on, lest Shinichi wants to subject himself to his mother being overprotective and overly clingy again. They made good progress that day for they were quite close to the capital by nightfall. Now, currently at the border town between the Logica Kingdom and the Clover Kingdom, they were about a day or so away on horseback. Even after the brief detour, they were still on time (and Shinichi had thanked his lucky stars for that). They searched for a place to stay but all the taverns were full. In the end, they managed to find a nice old lady who offered them her shed.

"At least we have a roof over our head." Ran, ever the optimistic, commented as she helped set up the small stage in the town square. They carried limited funds with them for their travels and most of the time, they relied on Shinichi's puppetry skills to draw in the crowd and money. No one would have suspected of Shinichi being a prince and having to work for money. Hattori stayed out of the way as he kept an eye on the security, their horses, and the wagon.

The show had drawn in a crowd, many have heard about a travelling puppet theatre and had been waiting for a long time to see the act. Shinichi smiled and weaved the stories for his audience. Children laughed merrily and adults were deeply enchanted by his tale. At the end of the performance, Ran came and help picked up the coins from the hat they set up in front of the puppet stage.

"Not bad for an afternoon show." She counted the coins before securing them in the small pouch by her belt. Normally, exposing the money pouch like she does would be a cause for concern, but this was Mouri Ran, a fighter capable of smashing through tables and crushing stone. She may look like a fragile beauty but her strength was the envy of many warriors. Another reason why she had been appointed to keep Shinichi safe instead of just being a childhood friend.

"So we can have a great meal tonight then Nee-chan?" Hattori approached them, temporarily leaving the wagon unattended. "It's been quite some time since I've last tasted the delicacy from 'ere. Nothin' beats a good Takoyaki!"

"Seriously, you and food." Shaking his head, Shinichi climbed onto the wagon to stow away the small stage. "How does Toyama-san put up with you." He spared a glance at the covered glass coffin, briefly wondering if what the other prince would say if he saw Shinichi's performance.

"Well, they do say the path to a man's heart is his stomach, I'm sure Kazuha-chan secretly likes Hattori-kun's big appetite." Ran handed him several of the puppets to be placed carefully into the trunk. They were all handmade by the resident artist Miyano Shiho (Shinichi likes to secretly call the woman a spawn of satan because of her acerbic tongue and dark humour, though her work is really some of the best in the lands) and her niece Haibara Ai, and were extremely delicate.

"Oi!" Hattori spluttered at the mention of the castle's chef and his childhood friend. His face was starting to colour.

It was no secret that the knight and chef had feelings for each other though neither would like to admit it to each other. The castle has a current bet on when they actually do confess (Shinichi was betting on the upcoming Winter of the year whereas Ran had the bet on Spring, something to do with how a new year often brings about relationship and such).

They managed to spend a relatively crime-free and relaxing night at the town, though they did encounter that one thief trying to steal Ran's money pouch. The unfortunate man managed to get nothing but bruised ribs for his effort. Shinichi was tempted to haul him to the nearest city with a dungeon but decided it was not worth the effort. Plus the man's sob-story was just too pathetic for him to ignore (something about being conned of money and suddenly left to care for a young child, practically a baby, without shelter and food, having lost his job and all his other belongings in a robbery a few days ago. Practically the worst kind of luck anyone could have, the man had managed to encounter everything within the span on a single week).

As they bid their goodnights inside the shed, huddled between piles of hay and haphazardly sprawled blankets, Shinichi was kept awake by his overactive mind once more. He knew he should try to sleep, rest his eyes, but he found it near impossible as every time he closed his eyes, his mind would superimpose the eyes of that young boy he saw at the festival all those years ago with the currently sleeping Prince Kaito.

"I just couldn't leave a mystery alone can I?" He muttered softly as he turned in his make-shift bed.

Several more agonizing minutes of turning and fidgeting, Shinichi decided to go for a stroll instead of staying wide awake (and possibly waking up his companions). Breathing in the cold midnight air, Shinichi felt more at peace than being inside. He wandered around the small garden, stopping every so often to look at the stars. It was a very tranquil night.

His legs soon took him to where they parked the wagon, where their horses were kept for the night. His black stallion opened an eye as an acknowledgement but was equally quick to fall back asleep. Shinichi climbed stealthily into the wooden wagon, pushing aside the worn-out tarp hanging across the wooden rafts to settle down and sit next to the glass coffin. He pulled off the velvet sheet, exposing the sleeping prince. In the moonlight, the prince looked more beautiful than anything else Shinichi has ever seen. The surrounding doves paid him half an eye before shuffling closer in a huddle, as though disgruntled by the sudden intrusion. Even the ever polite dove that would often sit on Shinichi's shoulders whenever he was nearby (he had a feeling the dove became enamoured with him for some odd reason) seemed reluctant to move away from its perch. Not minding it one bit, Shinichi continued to gaze into the coffin, waiting and anticipating for no particular reason, for the prince to somehow indicate that he was not yet gone from this world.

Shinichi managed to fall asleep and woke up not exactly refreshed but slightly less tired than before, even though he had been sleeping upright on a hard wooden floor. Hoping that his companions are still asleep, he replaced the velvet cloth to stop nosy passerbys from peering too deeply at their cargo (and it was weird thinking the prince as mere cargo). He washed himself from the nearby well, shivering against the too-cold water, and quickly shook off the excess clinging onto his hair. Thankfully, by the time he finished his morning ritual, Ran and Hattori was only just waking up.

"Yer up early again. What's been keepin' ya?" Hattori yawned as he pulled on the leather boots.

"Really Shinichi, normally you'll be sleeping like a log and we have to dump water on you to wake you up." Ran was pleasantly surprised instead of being concerned.

"Just want to hurry back." Shinichi decided to offer as an explanation. It would not do for them to be worried.

They thanked their host, gifting her with the few coins they (Shinichi) earned yesterday, before parting with the town. The weather was comfortable, with the sun shining brightly and a few lazy clouds floating by, the temperature wasn't too hot or cold. If Shinichi had the time, he would have laid down on a hilltop somewhere just to take a nap. Instead, they rode leisurely through the plains, into the direction of Beika city. They stopped by a small stream mid-morning, taking a break and letting the horses rest. Shinichi went to check the back of the wagon, to make sure nothing bad has happened to the glass coffin. The velvet cloth had shifted slightly and the doves were jostled, most huddling close to the corner in the front of the wagon, but otherwise nothing seems to be displaced.

However, the afternoon journey was not so smooth. They crossed the plains by noon and were heading into another dense forest when everything started to go haywired.

"You look happy." Shinichi commented towards Ran as they entered the shady, cool, area of the forest.

"I'll finally be able to sleep on my bed after this." Ran stretched her back lightly, her horse was docile enough to not need much control. "It seems so long."

"And here I thought it was because you can finally go see Sera. I remember she was scheduled to return from the front lines sometime this month." Shinichi gave his childhood friend a playful leer. "I'm sure you miss her more than your bed."

"Shinichi!"

He was sure Ran wanted to throttle him, if the sudden gallop of hooves were any indication. But before she could even ride parallel to him, their gazes were drawn towards the rustling of foliage. They stopped to listen further but found no other sound.

"It's only small animals." Shinichi assured them before continuing on their journey. It only takes around an hour or so to pass through the whole forest and another few to cross the flat roads before seeing the gates to Beika city. "We should be able to be back at the castle come nightfall."

But their relief was shortlived as they soon heard a twang and an accompanying soft thud. Hattori turned his head to see an arrow embedded into the wooden side of the wagon.

"Don't stop!" He yelled, not wanting to risk any of them getting injured. Several more arrows followed and the rustling noise was amplified. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a metallic glint heading in his direction. Without thinking, he pulled out the sword that he kept close at hand to bat away the projectile.

In front, Shinichi also had his sword in his hand, batting away the arrows coming his way. He tried his best to follow the path but had to suddenly verve off to the side when the dirt road was waylaid by a large tree trunk that he knew was impossible for the wagon. Ran followed close behind as they crashed through the dense shrubbery, making a trampled path and hope the wagon could travel through. He heard the rapid staccato of hooves from all directions, mostly from behind but there were several off to the side.

Unfortunately, they were once again stopped by a large boulder obstructing their path. Finding no other paths that did not make their trek more dangerous, Shinichi doubled back with his horse to the wagon to stand beside it. Ran stood on the other side and Hattori was already standing up on the seats, hoping to have gain better ground.

"Look's like we got ourselves a couple of nice rich kids!" A gruffy man burst out from the dense with his mount and his followers, some on foot and a few on horseback, stood to the back of him. "And we're gonna get ourselves rich today!"

His followers cheered even in the face of three well-honed warriors. Neither Shinichi, Ran, or Hattori would go down so easily and they were all good fighters in their own way even though none of them like the idea of permanently hurting their opponents.

"Ya think ya can get by us so easily?" Hattori yelled, challenging the supposed-leader. He pointed his sword in their direction. "Y'all think ya'll get lucky today?!"

"Hattori, riling them up isn't the best right now." Ran tries to placate even as she dismounted from her horse. "I'm sure we can easily work things out."

"I don't think it'll be that easy 'Nee-chan." Hattori motioned towards the overly enthused bunch of bandits. "And I don't think they're the usual bandits."

There were a few, non-native tattoos on their skin, some on the exposed necks, and others on their forearms. All of them bore resemblance to tribal tattoos similar to the ones in the North.

"Either way, we need to get rid of them." Shinichi stayed on horseback but made sure to stay close to his two friends. Ran and Hattori were already giving him the EYE for standing at the front and so close to danger. Both would have preferred for Shinichi to stay back, not participating in the upcoming battle. But with only the three of them and a dozen or-so bandits before them, Shinichi did not want to become the backdrop.

All the horses in their entourage were becoming slightly agitated, shuffling their hooves as though ready to charge. They sensed the tension in their riders (or in Hattori's case as the couchman) and was ready for action. Then, as though there was a starting signal, the bandits rushed in a single group towards the three. Ran encountered those on foot, dealing a significant amount of damage to the unfortunate few that met her. Already, three had fell unconscious to her kicks and punches. Hattori jumped down from the wagon to halt those with weapons, parrying with his sword and kicking those in range to stop them in their paths. The remaining few on horseback (and thank the deities that there were only a few) were met by Shinichi, who made quick work to forcefully push them from their mounts. They mostly suffered superficial damage but Hattori was quick to remedy that by ensuring they would remain knocked out.

Within minutes, the bandits had dwindled by at least half. The battle had unfortunately only escalated with the bandits becoming more daring and reckless. Ran was suffering from a harsh blow to the stomach, but was still standing strong. Hattori had moved away from the wagon and took up frontal position, slashing at anyone who dares to go near. Shinichi was forced to dismount to face the incoming opponents. He noticed the numbers actually increased ever so slightly, signifying the possibility of more backups. Shinichi knew these were no ordinary bandits.

The onslaught continued for over an hour, the bandits never seemed to be tiring though the three were coming up to their limits. Each clash of metal seemed heavy on their limbs as they were backed slowly to where the wagon sat. The two horses that had been pulling said wagon had suffered extensive injuries by stray arrows, though Shinichi could not be sure about the actual extent of the injuries. He just hoped the pair would still be able to pull their wagon back towards the castle. Ran's horse had ran off, possibly to a safe location, since the beginning of the battle, and his own had been similarly dismissed. He knew both were smart and would come back when called. An arrow flying straight at his head had him startled into action, jumping back away from the singing of blade and into the wagon. Sparing a glance back towards the glass coffin, he noticed the lid to be jolted open. A burst of fear bloomed in his chest and he quickly dashed over to cover Prince Kaito up again. It would not do for these people to know.

Unfortunately, the bandit leader followed Shinichi and hopped onto the wagon. He slashed his blade at Shinichi's back, drawing a long gash of blood. Shinichi stumbled and nearly fell into the open coffin if not for his quick reaction and held onto the sides.

"Oh, lookie here." The bandit called back out towards his underlings, which were now finally fewer in numbers. Hattori and Ran were only facing two each, with the rest of them now either unconscious or severely injured and lying on the ground. "We found our loot guys!"

Shinichi struggled to stand but the pain in his back and the tiredness in his limbs had made it extremely difficult. His puffs of air dislodged the fringes of Prince Kaito's hair. Being in this position made Shinichi all the more wishing for the prince to wake up. For a split second, Shinichi thought he saw the lips pulled taut but he shook off the hallucination. It must be the fatigue.

Hearing a rustle of fabric behind him, Shinichi tries to turn his body to parry the next incoming blow. Unfortunately, it still managed to hit him, though only on the shoulders. The blade embedded itself between the shoulder joint, causing liquid pain to shoot up Shinichi's spine. He had no choice but to scream as he held onto said blade with his other hand, having unconsciously let his own blade drop into the glass coffin. Shinichi must stop the bandit leader from pulling the blade out lest he wanted to bleed to death in the middle of the forest. Instead, he fell backwards, pulling the blade from the bandit's hand, which had him landing on top of the other prince's body. He knew his own blood was beginning to stain the other's clothes and hopes that the other would not mind.

Suddenly, and surprisingly, he felt something wrap itself around his waist. Glancing down, he saw a white sleeve and pale hands. His eyes widened.

"Now what do we have here." Shinichi could hear the seriousness in a voice similar to his. If he was not so sure his own mouth had not moved, he would have believed it to be his own words. Painfully, he craned his head backwards and was met with a pair of violet eyes. "Looks like you're in a bit of trouble there."

Shinichi was only able to let out a puff of air, not having the strength to actually form words. The pain was slowly receding, through some sort of a miracle, and he was not sure whether it was a good thing or not.

"Let me handle this. You rest for a while." The body beneath him shifted and had placed him ever so gently into the bed of flowers. Shinichi struggles to sit up slightly to watch the fight between the just woken prince and the bandit leader.

If Shinichi had to describe the fight, it would be strange. While not being overly aggressive in his attack, Prince Kaito mainly used the blade as a sort of defensive shield. They managed to direct the fight closer to the edge of the wagon, and Prince Kaito had placed himself in a relatively disadvantageous position. He was crouched down low and was rummaging about a saddle bag nearby. Several of his doves, now quite awake, had made themselves useful by distracting the bandit leader and flew into his face. One kept close by Shinichi as though standing guard. Then, with a triumphant yell, Prince Kaito pulled out a cylindrical object and threw it to the floor. A burst of smoke erupted, covering both the inside and outside of the wagon. All manner of fighting stopped and when the smoke dissipated, the bandit leader laid motionless half hanging in and half hanging out of the wagon.

"Shinichi!" "Kudo!" Came the pair of voices and a mad dash. Kaito stood to the side to let the other two climb up. Ran gasped when she saw the prominent wound and the protruded blade. Hattori swore underneath his breath.

"It's…" Shinichi tries to say but winced, he wanted to say it was fine and that it does not hurt much by now but he would be lying.

"You're better off staying still there." Kaito spoke from the semi-shadow of the wagon, having tied up the bandit leader to a nearby post. "Those aren't little wounds."

Finally, the other two noticed the quite pristine prince standing in the corner with a dove on his head. Both took a step back, as though seeing a ghost. Hattori stood in front of Shinichi to defend if necessary whereas Ran was to the side, supporting Shinichi in case they had to run.

"Hey, I don't mean any harm. I just woke up after all." Kaito held up his hands to show he really had no malicious intent. "And I did help you guys."

"And for that you have our thanks." Shinichi managed to whisper out. "But I think it's best if we get going…" His voice was becoming softer by the second and he could feel the stickiness at his back. He knew something must be done about his wounds but returning to the city takes precedence.

Hattori, reluctantly, went to check on the two horses in front. "The two pulling this wagon wouldn't last much longer. They're bleedin' out."

"Call the horses Ran." Shinichi was struggling with each word. He had stopped any attempts to make himself relatively more comfortable, settling on just not jostling the blade or the gash on his back. He took a moment to visually check Ran for her injuries. Her clothes were slightly stained by both blood and mud (and Shinichi really hopes the blood weren't hers), there were several rips in her clothes but otherwise seemed to be unscathed. Shinichi did not doubt she would have a mottling of bruises on her arms and legs, possibly her torso, seeing as she was a close-range fighter.

Ran hesitated before peering out and whistled loudly as Hattori was busy with unstrapping the injured horses. There was nothing else he could do but end their lives swiftly to lessen their suffering. Sighing, Kaito approached the injured Shinichi and seemed determine to make his look-alike more comfortable despite the injuries. Shinichi bit his lips as he realised he wasn't sure what to say to the other prince.

"You don't have to be so nervous you know. I'm not going to bite you or anything." Kaito began rummaging around to look for something to staunch the blood. "Though I wouldn't mind knowing where we're heading."

"Beika." Shinichi managed to say as he shuffled himself to allow access to his back wounds. He could hear Ran and Hattori wrangling up the horses out front, his own horse was likely to be extremely temperamental because of the treatment.

"Good, you won't mind me tagging along would you? Though I suppose you were bringing me there to begin with." A wry smile played on Kaito's lips as he looked back down into the flower-filled glass coffin.

Shinichi nodded, suddenly becoming quite aware of the amethyst gaze fixed on his face. He couldn't help but blush.

"So, would you like to introduce yourself? I'm sure you know who I am." His smile was also contagious as Shinichi found his own mouth turning upwards despite the pain.

"Kudo Shinichi." He felt awkward to introduce himself as the prince in the presence of the other prince.

"So Shin-chan it is." Kaito declared as the other grimaced. "And your companions?"

"The knight you saw is Hattori Heiji."

"Wait, is he related to Western Logica General Hattori? The one who is said to be feared by everyone, who will bring down the wrath of demon to all that harms the Logica Kingdom?" Awe was apparent in the voice.

"I didn't know his father had such a reputation…" Although Shinichi felt weak, he deemed it only polite to continue the conversation. He knew his strength was leaving him but he also know he had to keep himself awake.

"Urg." The wince on the face said everything. "And the beautiful lady?"

"My childhood friend Mouri Ran." At least he knew both parents of his childhood friend were more normal with a less fearsome title. If he remembered correctly, Kisaki Eri was known to be a cunning negotiator with the title of the Queen of the Courts, although that title was simultaneously held by his own mother seeing as she really was the Queen, and Mouri Kogoro was unfortunately named affectionately by some as the Bumbling Defender because of his prowess with martial arts and his ability to always manage to offend higher officials.

"You're surrounded by people from the castle, so that makes you...part of royalty I assume?" Kaito carefully maneuvered the other back to the previous position, hoping to ease some pain.

Again, Shinichi bit his lips and nodded before adding reluctantly. "Prince."

"Oh? Quite humble for a prince then if you're not announcing yourself as such right now. Not to mention to travel in a caravan." He gestured to the surroundings, eyes resting on the small wooden stage set on the side. "You're travelling undercover then? Performer?" He lifted several pieces before recognising a small puppet. It was the same one he saw all those years ago, the one held by the puppet master that caught his eye. Kaito reached over to pick the puppet up, brushing lint and dust away from the surface, before cradling it in his hand as though it was fragile.

Shinichi's eyes were drawn towards the small puppet and was mesmerize by the actions the other prince. Sapphire eyes followed delicate hands as it carefully turns the puppet over for inspection. Even though Shinichi had changed his puppets many times, this was the only one he kept with his stash every time he travelled. It reminds him of the first time he stepped on stage and performed, of the thrill that was different to the thrill of a chase, of the satisfaction from the happy faces. He could see that the puppet also had a special meaning for the prince in front of him.

"Is this yours?" Kaito's voice breaking the spell cast inside the wagon's interior. "I've seen this before, a long time ago in fact."

"It's my first ever puppet." He whispered. "From the first time I travelled to Ekoda."

"So you're the puppeteer from that time." Realisation dawned on Kaito's face, eyes widening as it looked from the puppet to Shinichi. "I can see the similarities, the eyes, the structure. Though I must say the glasses were not flattering on you and I do hope you're not in need of wearing it daily."

"They were a…" Shinichi wasn't sure how to answer that. The glasses were his father's and he took it on a whim, hoping that it would be sufficient to hide his face. "They were supposed to be a disguise as I sneaked away but Ran managed to catch me before I could escape through the city gates."

Just when Kaito was about to tease, Ran called from the front telling them to prepare for a bumpy ride as they wanted to arrive back at the city to see to the injuries. Shinichi called out, with as loud a voice as he could manage, to tell them do what they must. He knew how grievous the injuries were and he did not want to risk anything happening to him, especially not when the other prince had finally woken up. He wanted to spend some time with the owners of those alluring amethyst eyes.

Even with Kaito conversing with Shinichi for the whole journey, Shinichi still fell unconscious not moments after they exited the forest. Panic soon ensued as Kaito urged the two in the front seats to speed up the journey. He saw the petals of the flowers being stained with red and felt fear coursing through his vein. Although he only spent a brief amount of time with Shinichi, Kaito yearned to talk more with him. It was as though he was drawn in by the other's silence.

When they arrived at the castle, Ran called out desperately to the nearby guards to help carry the unconscious prince. Kaito kept close, following the glass coffin now occupied by Shinichi, as it was carried towards a lavishly furnished bedroom. Nurses and doctors were called and a rush of activity ensued as they assessed and healed the injury. Throughout all the activity, Kaito kept close but out of the doctor's way. He wanted to make sure the other lived. When the doctors declared Shinichi to be stable, and finally retreated from the bedroom, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Logica finally entered and noticed Kaito sitting by the bedside.

"You must be Kaito." The King stated as he cast a worried glance at his son.

"Oh Kai-chan." The Queen rushed forwards to envelop Kaito, probably as compensation for not being able to hug her own boy. "What happened?"

Kaito narrated his story from when he woke up, described the fight as best he could. The King's brow furrowed as the story progressed.

"What about you? What happened at Ekoda?" The King urged. Kaito could have spun a tale of why he left but he decided to at least notify someone of his suspicions about Goldberg. He went into great detail of how Goldberg came to live with them and how he influenced the current council of advisors. He told the King about the comments made by Hakuba and the elder Nakamori after the first attempt at his assassination, linking them with the current state of affairs. The King nodded sagely as he listened to the tale, questioning for further confirmation on the methods of the attempted assassination. He even called the doctors back in to check Kaito over, just in case.

"It seems it would not be safe for you to remain in Ekoda then." The Queen finally spoke, though she still held onto Kaito as though he was a lifeline. Kaito was reluctant to dislodge the distress queen. "It's a good thing Chikage-chan came to us then."

"'Kaa-san is here?" Kaito never asked where his mother went, only knew that she was safe. There was always the fear of his mail being intercepted, though Jii had left clues for Kaito to figure out their location.

"We'll call Chikage to come to the castle. She's staying at one of the manors on the city edge right now, having declined our offer for staying in the castle."

"It reminds her too much of the time she spent here with Toichi-san." The Queen added for Kaito's benefit. "This was the castle when Toichi-san had the courage to propose to Chikage-chan. It held too many memories."

Kaito remembered his mother's fond voice as she described the Beika castle. He had always wondered why Beika left such an impression on his mother but he never had the chance to ask.

"Would it be ok if I stayed here?" Kaito had to ask. He wanted to be here when Shinichi opened his eyes.

A look shared between the King and Queen told him they knew what Kaito was thinking and the Queen gave an encouraging smile before hugging the life out of Kaito once more. "Stay for as long as you need." She whispered into his ear before leaving with the King.

Several of his doves kept him company inside the prince's room. Servants came to drop by some clean clothes, food, and bedding, which Kaito did not doubt the Queen prepared for him. He had first suspected the Queen to have assigned a room to him, but to see the servants carrying an extra bed into the room, albeit smaller than the one being occupied, and setting it up inside the room, was somewhat surprising.

-1 Month Later-

Gunter stood in front of his mirror once more, the box now sat empty on the small table and the gem firmly placed into its housing. He waited for the mirror to mist up to ask his question.

"Mirror, mirror which I've mend, tell me who's the best magician on this land."

"You are the best magician on this land." The ominous voice echoed in the empty chamber. Gunter huffed up with pride but was suddenly shocked by the next words spoken. "However, over at yonder Beika, there lives a magician much much greater."

"WHAT?!" He exclaimed, "how is that possible?! Prince Kaito is gone, so KID is gone!"

"The consort-to-be of the Beikan Prince is a magician greater than any since."

Gunter kicked the table beside him, sending the empty box to the floor. The clatter and crash drew in the guards from the doorway as the door eased opened a fraction.

"OUT!" Gunter yelled and the guards scrambled to close the door behind them. He glanced back towards the small table, where an envelope fluttered slowly towards the ground and landed on top of the empty box. On the front it read 'Acting Regent Gunter von Goldberg II' written in dark blue ink. He had yet to open the envelope, having taken it from the messenger on the way towards the throne room. And as though drawn by the words, he picked it up from the ground and turned it over. The envelope was sealed by the Beika Royal crest. A smile crept up onto Gunter's face. "Well, it seems I'm in luck then."

Opening the envelope revealed a letter of invitation by the Royal family to celebrate the engagement of the young prince. Intriguing enough, the other party was not mentioned inside the letter.

"Hm, it seems I should go and meet this consort-to-be and assess my competition. Maybe Beika should be my next conquest for Homeland." He tapped his chin, ignoring how the mist had begun to dissipate inside the mirror.

Back at the Beika, there was a hustle of activities as rooms were being decorated, the gardens being trimmed, windows being polished, and servants rushed about ladened with boxes and flowers. Queen Yukiko stood inside the throne room, directing several unfortunate souls to do her bidding.

"No, a bit more to the left." She yelled as the servants scrambled to tug at the white sash hanging over the window. She turned towards Queen Chikage who was off to the opposite end, directing those carrying the large vase of flowers. "We'll never be able to make it in time."

"Blame my son for his spontaneity then." It was less than a week ago when Kaito had announced he and the young prince of Beika had decided to be wed to each other. Many may question their choice, and several advisors did argue they had not known each other for long and should not make such rash decisions. But a single look from Shinichi had silenced any further arguments. "Love at first sight I guess." Was the best reason Queen Chikage could come up with.

"Where are they now by the way? We still have several details to go through, especially the guest seating plan for the dinner that evening." Queen Yukiko motioned for the servant by the large French doors leading out to the gardens. "Have the tailors arrived yet?" The negative answer brought a scowl to her face and the servant retreated as quickly as he could from the immediate surroundings.

"Yukiko-chan, you need to calm down a bit." Queen Chikage watched with amusement as she saw the man scrambling out of the way of the incoming group of workers with a stack of chairs. "You'll stress yourself out and you're not even the star for the day."

"You don't know my son Chikage-chan. He's more likely to want a small get-together than a celebration. And we had so few to begin with." She sighed, it was a constant struggle to have her son participate in the festivities. "This time, we have a legitimate reason to celebrate and it is an important affair! Where are they?! And where's Yuu-chan?!" She nearly yelled out but a Queen should never raise her voice so she had to keep calm. Taking a deep breath, she sent for one of the still remaining servants to fetch the three wayward men.

"At least your son had allowed you the privilege of setting this all up." Queen Chikage finally deemed the vase and its corresponding flowers to be artfully arranged before turning her attention towards the now flustered queen. "Yukiko-chan, there's nothing more we can do until the the day after tomorrow. After that, we have a whole year to plan for their wedding."

"Yes, and this time, I will not allow Shin-chan to just get away with a small ceremony." Queen Yukiko considered the upcoming celebration to be small. If she had enough time, it would have turned out to be a week-long celebration event involving the whole kingdom. Yet her son had vehemently refused all such plans. "And someone get those two princes right here this instant!"

Not a moment too soon, the pair of princes ran into the room as though chased by monsters.

"Shin-chan! Kai-chan!" She had her hands on her hips. "You two were supposed to be here to help with the setup! This is your ceremony!"

"'Kaa-san, I wanted this to be small. You know how things are at the moment. We can't afford to make such a spectacle not with the…"

"That is no excuse. An engagement is an important affair in royalty and must be taken seriously, much more so than a war or battle." She grabbed each of the princes by the wrist and pulled them towards the dais set in the back of the chamber. She positioned them to stand just at the base of the steps, slightly to the side and off-center. "Stand here."

Obediently, the two stood in the setting, with the two large thrones behind them and the long red carpet before them. The chairs had been set on either side facing the carpet, large vases lined the walls filled with red and white roses, and blue ribbon sashes hung on the backs of the chairs to add a splash of colour.

"Maybe we should have just left for the actual city instead of staying on the grounds just then…" Kaito whispered softly beside Shinichi.

"Do you want to face my mother's wrath?" His eyes were trained on his mother as she motioned for several servants to start placing vases of flowers as the backdrop to the throne dais. "As long as we do as she asks, we can have more time to ourselves."

"But are you sure you're ok with this?" Kaito had to ask to reconfirm. He did not doubt his own feelings towards the other prince nor did he doubt the feelings the other prince had for himself. Though this whole ceremony thing is rather rushed.

Shinichi looked incredulously at Kaito. "By which you mean our engagement celebration or using the actual celebration to get rid of that Acting Regent?"

Neither had planned to use the celebration as a way of luring the Acting Regent away from the capital but King Yuusaku had suggested the merit of having the man away from the castle to allow Beika agents to start with the 'cleaning up', as he called it. They have come to the conclusion that Goldberg was from the Northern Lands and were thinking of replacing the existing staff with those that are not loyal towards Goldberg. It was, in essence, ridding themselves of the threat in preparation of the merging between the two kingdoms.

"The latter. I don't mind the celebration as much as you do." Kaito reached out to intertwine his fingers with Shinichi. "Though your aversion to such is amusing."

"You've never been the object of my mother's focus for such parties. Maybe after you've experience it, then you'll understand where I'm coming from."

Kaito only laughed before pressing his lips on Shinichi's cheeks. "It'll be great I'm sure." He had to make the most out of their remaining time together for after the sun has set, they will be forced apart by their parents.

They had been forced to spend that night, and the next day and night leading up to the ceremony, in separate rooms on opposite wings, a formality often repeated for when they exchange their marriage vows. It was supposed to give them time to actually think about what they were committing themselves to but it only brought them loneliness. Being away from each other, after having spent nearly a month in each other's presence, was uncomfortable and disconcerting. Though both princes endured as their own parents kept them company during the nights and Ran and Hattori ran messages between the pair of princes, which were not encouraged but the parents decided to ignore that little fact.

"Kudo." A feminine voice called out in time with the large oak doors opening. There was only one person within the castle that would call out to Shinichi in such a fashion and enter without knocking on the door. Not wanting to anger this particular individual, Shinichi detached himself from the bookcase in the study area inside his current room to meet with the owner of the voice at the sitting out area. This particular room he is currently placed in is not his own bedroom. It is one of the many guest suites inside the castle. It had all the usual amenities one would need, giving them the privacy of their own space. However, for Shinichi, it was quite inconvenient but traditions must be observed, especially by himself as a Prince of the kingdom.

"What do I owe the pleasure to Shiho?" He motioned for the strawberry blond to sit at the large couch in front of the fireplace.

"What you've asked for has been prepared, let's just hope that between you and the new prince, you'll have all the skills needed to pull this hair-brained plan of your's off." She sat down, gently placing a wooden box on the low table in front of the couch. Shinichi's eyes shifted from the fashionably dress woman in front of him to the small box on the table. There was a smirk lingering on the corners of her mouth as she waited patiently for Shinichi to ask the question.

"What's that?" Shinichi had waited for a full five minutes for the woman to volunteer the information but it seems she was unwilling to part with the information so freely.

"A gift from my niece." She pushed the box forward. The intricately tied bow flapped with the air current, as though beckoning Shinichi to open the lid. Glancing between the box and the woman, he hesitated for a second. "What? You're afraid we might have booby-trapped it?"

It wouldn't be the first time the pair of devil spawns did something nasty just to make fun of Shinichi. However, he did not believe today to be the day the pair would pull such a prank on him. Carefully, he tugged at the hanging ribbon to loosen the knot. It came away smoothly, fluttering as it fell onto the tabletop. Removing the wooden lid brought a small smile to Shinichi's face.

Inside the box were a pair of puppets, a miniaturized version of himself and Kaito decked out in their princely garb. Puppet-Shinichi had a sword to his side whereas Puppet-Kaito had a top hat on his tiny head. Both faces looked bright, smiling at something that no one seems to know. Picking up the delicately decorated puppet, Shinichi admired Puppet-Shinichi in the light from a nearby window. The eyes were painted in the brightest blue, a small golden chain linked the two ends of the velvet navy cape around the wooden shoulders. The white blouse and similarly velvet burgundy vest were tailored for the small body. The belt, he felt, were made from leather and had small metallic buckles and leather satchels attached. He tugged at the tiny sword, marvelling at the fact that the sword could be pulled out of the sheath. He tested it against his own skin, surprised that it was sharp enough to cut through skin and drawing small amounts of blood. The black pants even had working pockets and the thigh boots were so intricately made that even the stitchings were done with utmost care.

"Wow. This is…" Shinichi was speechless. It definitely was not something regularly seen nor can it be bought.

"Ai spent a full month, every single day, working on the pair of puppets." It was easy to tell Shiho was proud of her niece's work.

Replacing the Puppet-Shinichi into the lined box, Shinichi picked up Puppet-Kaito. The white top-hat matched with the white jacket and vest combo. There was a silver chain linking the midnight-black cape around the puppet's shoulders. There was even a small dove standing on said shoulders. Instead of a sword held by the leather belt around the puppet's waist, there were many pouches and satchels. Shinichi managed to see a tiny rose pinned onto the lapels of the vest underneath the jacket and cape. The cape was even more intricate than the one on Puppet-Shinichi, this black cape had silver stitchings embroidered in a vine-like pattern with roses and leaves. It had a white-furred lining that was soft to the touch.

"How did she know we'll be...announcing our relationship a month ago? We weren't even formally courting each other until several weeks ago." Shinichi could not help but notice the discrepancies of time.

"You can't really believe Ai and I were really that dense now? We could both see how you looked at that new prince and how he looked at you in return during that brief visit to our workshop. We'd have to be blind not to notice."

Shinichi tries to think back to the visit, how he acted and looked. But nothing popped into mind. He thought he had hidden those sneaked glances well but it seems both puppet-makers were more sharp-eyed than anyone else (including their parents, who always seems to know things about the two sons).

"Kudo, both yourself and the new prince are the only ones not to have noticed until recently. Though it is expected." Shiho held a certain sense of fondness in her voice.

Shinich blushed, slightly embarrassed by his own behaviour. He might have known the woman for a long time, but the elder (by around two years) had always been more of an older sibling, or possibly an aunt, to him rather than a mere acquaintance. The made small talk for the rest of the afternoon, Shiho effectively staving off Shinichi's boredom until dinner where he was finally joined by his own parents and Ran.

When the day came, both princes saw the arrival of the guests through their own bedroom windows. There was a long line of coaches, carrying dignitaries from all across the lands each carrying gifts to be presented to the pair of royalties during the dinner celebration. Shinichi fidgeted continuously, not quite sure whether it was because of nervousness or anticipation. There was much that can go wrong on this day, ranging from sudden drop-ins, sabotage, to just plain falling decorations. Though the worst was the wait for the actual announcement. It had been two days since he last saw Kaito and somehow, it made him all the more longing for his touch. Another blush blossomed in his cheeks as his heart filled with warmth of the thought. When the page finally knocked on his doors, he went to pull at the brass doorknob, only noticing the slight tremble in his hands. Taking a steadying breath, he pulled the oak doors opened and walked confidently down the corridor.

In front of the throne room, Kaito stood, smartly dressed, with a bright smile on his face. His amethyst eyes twinkled and sparkled when it made contact with Shinichi. They withheld themselves from launching at each other, settling for the firm grip as their hands joined. They waited, once more, for the King to announce their presence. This time, the doors opened by themselves, helped by the two servants inside the throne room. Taking another steadying breath, almost in synchronous this time, before they let go of each other's hands as they walked down the carpeted path. Curious eyes turned towards them, some gasping was heard. There were soft incredulous mutters and jeers but it was quickly silenced by glares from nearby guests. Most of the guest were surprised but understood this to mean a joining of the two large families rather than the traditional union.

"Esteemed guests, allow me to announce my son, Shinichi, heir to the Kingdom of Logica, and Prince Kaito, heir to the Kingdom of Clover, are to be engaged from this day onwards until the day of their marriage." The King announced when the two princes stood at their designated positions by the dais. The announcement was followed by claps before settling back down to murmurs before the King invited all the guests to the reception hall for drinks and snacks as well as to enjoy the gardens and small amount of entertainment provided within the castle. The guests have all been given rooms inside the castle to rest for the afternoon and in preparation for the evening's dinner should they so chose. The pair of princes were quick to escape from well-wishers and retreated towards their now-shared room. They flopped down onto the mattress at the same time, hands joined from the moment they exited the throne room until now. Both relishing in the feeling of the other nearby.

"You think we'll pull through?" Shinichi could not help but ask. Even though he had every ounce of confidence in their plan. He curled up beside Kaito who placed a possessive arm around the waist and kept the other close.

"We will, if it's you and me. We can do anything if we put our minds to it." Kaito leaned in to bury himself into the soft locks of hair. "Between you, your father, and myself, we thought of every possibility. We'll be fine." He assured confidently.

When dinner came, it was a grandiose affair. The dining hall was decorated with opulent gold and silver, with circular tables covered in pure white covers with silver embroidery. Large candelabras stood proudly at the center of each table accompanied by a selection flowers at its base. Plates of bite-size snacks were left on the table within easy reach of each table's guest, transparent glass sparkle under the glow of the dining hall with their still empty glass waiting to be filled. The cutlery were polished to add more sparkle to the table and plates were carefully chosen to show the kingdom's emblem. In the front of the room was a long rectangular table, decorated in much the same manner only without the candelabras. There were blue sashes circling the edge of the table, interspaced with a small bouquet of clover and small white flowers. At the center sat the two princes, flanking them were their parents on either side.

The King made the customary speech, welcoming the guests for the evening before asking the food to be served. Though a rather supporting guest suddenly stood up and demanded a toast to start off the evening. Many from the same table clapped and cheered, and the rest of the guests soon followed the fashion. The King had no choice but to announce for the toast, to which the pair of princes sat dumbfounded and embarrassed but complied nonetheless. Raising their glasses to their mouths to take a sip of the offered champaign, they bowed their heads in appreciation for the gesture. When the dinner was finally underway, and the the main course had been served, the King stood once more to thank the guests.

"Guests of Logica and Clover, I would like to take this opportunity to once more thank you for taking time out of your schedule to come celebrate this joyous event with us. My sons are most definitely enjoying this evening." He gave a curt nod towards the seated pair before returning his attention to the guests. "I hope you have enjoyed your brief stay at our castle, we are more than happy if you would like to stay for a few more days. I most certainly would like the extra company to take me away from the desk more often."

Here, many of the guests hid their chuckles behind glasses and fists. It was well known that the King had an inherent dislike for paperwork and dealing with his advisors, which the feeling was reciprocated by the advisors themselves. And yet, he made a great king for the land.

"I know some of you wanted to congratulate my sons in person and I would like you to take this time to do so. I know they'll be eager to return to their rooms for the evening, if only to spend some alone time by themselves." He joked, earning another bout of chuckles with the extra glare from Shinichi. Even the two Queens were chuckling on the side.

With that said, the first guests bravely rose from their seats closest to the long table. They came bearing gifts which were offered along with their well-wishes to the pair. Pleasantries were exchanged between the individuals before another set of guests came, each taking turns to talk to the Royals seated at the table. They patiently sat through all the generic greetings, each returning it with a smile.

However, when the Acting Regent Gunter von Goldberg stood, it immediately drew attention from everyone inside the room. The seated Royals suddenly sat straighter, as though anticipating his approach.

"Your Highnesses, Your Majesties." He bowed deeply before rising and meeting the eyes of the two princes. "Such a joyous event and I had not been expecting to see Prince Kaito to be here with his mother. Queen Chikage, I hope you have recovered well?"

"I had appreciated the time away from the castle. It seems my health had improved quite a lot afterwards. It must have been stress that had been causing all my problems thus far." She replied genially, even though the three males at the table had voiced out their suspicions towards said queen.

"Then would you be returning back to Ekoda?" There was a tense edge to his voice.

"Not too soon I'm afraid, there'll be several things that had to settled here first before I return to the castle. I hope you have taken good care of things back home?" The queen's reply was equally as sharp and tense, it was like watching a pair of fighters testing their strength against each other. And both princes were unwilling to enter into the arena unless they were called for. Thankfully, Gunter gave the generic reply before turning his attention back towards the princes.

There was a sense of distaste when Gunter's eyes met Kaito's face but it was quickly smoothed over to something less intimidating.

"Unlike all other guests before me, I do not find presenting you with material goods to be adequate for the occasion. Instead, I shall gift this occasion with a show." He took another bow before looking towards the king for approval, which was immediately given.

The dance floor was quickly cleared as Gunter approach the empty space. He took another bow before spreading his arms wide to announce his show, drawing all attention to himself. From the long table, they could see the self-satisfied smirk on his face as he gestured something with his hands in the air. The lights in the hall went out, plunging the room into darkness. Seconds later, a single source of light from a candle's flame appeared in front of Gunter's face as a sweet smell permeated the room. A sense of relaxation overcame the audience and smiles began playing on many of the faces. Up at the table, the Royals stiffen, knowing full well it was a chemically induced relaxation and enjoyment rather than that brought on by the thrill of a show. Not a moment later, several more light sources appeared hanging in the air, gently swaying before gliding across the room. Two flames then appeared in front of the princes, both bright white and subsequently blinding everyone seated at the table. It was then a thud was heard and the lights suddenly came back on. The two princes were slumped over the table with blood pouring their backs. The King called for order when several guests began to scream. Guards came to bar anyone from exiting the room, keeping all the guests seated at the table. The cold eyes from the King surveyed the room, taking in every detail, before dismissing guards from several of the tables he knew to be innocent of such acts.

"Father," Shinichi appeared from behind the curtains close by with Kaito at his side. Guests were astounded to see the prince and kept glancing between the now standing princes and the one slumped on the table. "I saw who did it."

Gunter, who had been standing in the middle of the dance floor, took an involuntary step back as though he saw a ghost. Though in all honesty, no one would blame him for the reaction. Carefully, he checked his pockets and pouches, noting the locations of his powders and the small knife. His eyes met the steely blue gaze, knowing the other prince saw through his tricks and actions. Not wanting to prolong the wait, he ran up towards the table, with the full intention of jumping over the table to take a stab at Prince Kaito. He was, unfortunately, too slow for Kaito for the prince met him mid way, quickly incapacitated him with a hit to the wrist. The knife clattered onto the tabletop as the struggle between the prince and magician continued. The king and queens moved away, pushing Shinichi further into the wall to avoid misplaced kicks and punches. After what seemed like an eternity of tension in the air, Gunter was forcefully thrown downwards with his face towards the ground, arms held behind his back. The guards suddenly snapped back into attention and rushed forwards to contain Gunter.

"By my power, you are hereby declared guilty of attempted assassination." The King looked towards the Ekoda Queen who took a step to stand in front of the man.

"You are hereby stripped of your title, power, and station for your acts against the Crown and are to be banished from these lands. From this day forth, you cannot step onto the soil of the Kingdom of Clover." She kept her face set and stern as she stared down at the magician before her. There was no trace of pity or compassion in those eyes.

"Your treasonous acts cannot go unpunished," the King took his place once more, drawing in the other guests gaze. For all they know, the man in front was only guilty for the assassination. To suddenly hear the man, this former-Acting Regent who had dealings with many of the guests present, had done even worser acts of crime than the one they saw, was unthinkable. Especially in their eyes, the man was nothing but charitable to many causes even if his policies had left much to be desired. "Your punishment will be dealt out, and served, by myself until I deemed you to be bereft of your sins."

It was unconventional for a King to preside over the punishment instead of announcing it outright, but many had assumed it was because he did not want to ruin the celebrations. There were tense moments as the King motioned for the guards to take the man away from sight.

"Dear guests." Yukiko addressed the audience, trying to diffuse the situation and hoping to put back the atmosphere. "Please do not alarm yourselves unnecessarily." Her voice carried clearly across the room and the guests seemed to calm down somewhat. "Tonight is a night for celebration and we should enjoy it as such. It would be a waste for all the good food and wine to go to waste." She motioned for a nearby waiter for a glass of wine, which was quickly passed out through the Royals. Other servants in the room quickly busied themselves as they handed out drinks to the surrounding guests. Many took the glass hesitantly but still mimicked the queen's action.

"Let us all forget the incident and continue on the night." She cheerfully raised her glass towards the audience, all reciprocated in kind, before downing her whole glass. She then turned towards the two princes, who replicated the same motions. Though neither liked the taste of wine but they were both willing to put up with it for the night. They had been trying to minimise consumption to control their behaviours but a night full of toasting and greetings meant there was only so much they could avoid.

The celebration slowly eased back into its previous atmosphere as guests returned to the dance floor, others approaching the Royals seated at the long table now cleared of the mess. New crockery and cutlery were placed, along with servings of fruits and desserts.

"At least we can count tonight's event as a success." Kaito leaned over to whisper into Shinichi's ear. He noted the flushed nature of the cheeks and knew it had nothing to do with his close proximity. "I guess we should call it a night." He stood to extend his hand out to Shinichi, who gracefully took the hand and stood up beside him.

"Esteemed guests." Shinichi addressed to the people, dancing and music immediately halted as eyes focused on the pair of princes. "Thank you all for coming for the celebration. I am afraid this is where Kaito and I must part for the evening. Please continue to enjoy the night."

They bowed before taking their leave accompanied by catcalls from some of the more rowdier guests. Shinichi had to duck his head to hide the blush but Kaito seemed to enjoy the moment.

Their night was pure platonically, with the pair of them only sharing the bed for no other purpose than sleeping. With Shinichi encased within his embrace, Kaito fell into the most peaceful sleep he had ever since his father's passing. There was no need for him to worry whether he, or his mother, would be killed in their sleep. No need for the constant vigilance and paranoia plaguing his every moment of life. All that remains is the bright future, the Happily Ever After that was once promised to all Prince and Princesses across the many lands.

Now if only he could convince Shinichi to do something on the bed other than sleeping, Kaito could be a lot more happier. **  
**

 **-END-**


End file.
